


The Mummy

by Hannah_Radiant



Series: The Mummy Series [1]
Category: The Mummy Series
Genre: F/M, Some historical tweaking--in the name of feminism, slight AU
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-09-20
Updated: 2018-11-08
Packaged: 2019-01-01 02:26:01
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 14
Words: 28,628
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12146634
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Hannah_Radiant/pseuds/Hannah_Radiant
Summary: Nerissa Wilson, American adventurer who refuses put up with the bullshit of the societal norms. Her life was crazy enough before an ancient undead mummy came back. Now she finds herself trying to survive the oncoming Apocalypse. Question is can she manage to snag the guy before a mummy turns him into dust? [Crappy summary but the story isn't that bad.]





	1. Prologue

**Author's Note:**

> This story is a rework of one I originally posted back in 2005 on Fanfiction.net
> 
> https://www.polyvore.com/mummy_fanfiction/collection?id=4323965 [Polyvore Collection for the Part of the Series]

It was a normal thing for me to visit another country, I had traveled more than the typical child. It came with the territory when your parents are archeologists. My mother was half British and half American, as for my father he was American. And my mother often would take me with her when visiting her friends in England. Out of all her friends my favorites were the Carnahan's. They had two children close to my age Jonathan and Evelyn. Evy was always reading about Egypt and Jonathan was always getting into trouble, more often than my mother liked he dragged me along. Between the two of us we caused quite a bit of trouble over the years. Once Jon and I, had believe it or not broke a staircases banister…I swear I didn't mean to it just happened. Our mothers were furious but our fathers found it hysterical that we managed to do such a thing. You see we were sliding down them when Jon hopped on behind me resulting in too much weight. Don't get me wrong it was fun even funny cause we didn't get hurt but since then I was never aloud near banisters! Anyway here is my story. Not the point of view you always hear about but it's still worth the time to listen to. I swear to you or my name is not Nerissa Antoinette Wilson.


	2. The French Foreign Legion

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> There have been many changes from the original version of this chapter. I'm still not too happy about it but it's a start. I will continue to edit the other chapters more to my liking.

Nerissa had decided to join the French Foreign Legion; for two reasons. One she had wanted to have an adventure and two she was looking for a good time. It was actually pretty easy to join up, apparently it only took posing as a man to enlist. They were desperate enough for men they were accepting any man that volunteered forgoing a physical. Of course it was a tad problematic after it was discovered that she was in fact a woman but since they had lost nearly half their men in a previous encounter they let it slide, she knew how to fire a gun so they just let her stay. Of course she was left under the supervision of a fellow American, which she felt was bullshit since she didn’t need a babysitter. But if it meant that she could stay she would keep her mouth shut.

So far it had been at least a little bit fun, she was allowed to fight and no one cared that she would swear up a storm or drink. Nerissa even met a few guys that she became friends with a fellow American and her supposed supervisor Rick O'Connell, a British gentleman named Captain Winston Havelock of the RAF, ‘Mad Dog’ Maguire an Irish pilot and the cowardly Hungarian Beni Gabor. Rick and her became instant best friends and well Beni…Nerissa didn't even know if she could call him a friend or. an acquaintance.

"Why are you in the French Foreign Legion? You kill a guy?" asked Beni Nerissa laughed before answering.

"Nah…just looking for a little excitement. And figured why not try something new? What about you two?" she looked to Beni who immediately answered.

"I robbed a Synagogue. They have a lot of stuff there. And you know who guards Synagogues?" Rick and Nerissa looked at each other before answering.

"Altar boys?" Beni nodded and muttered something mutely in Hungarian, to himself. "Whoa how terrifying! Altar boys!" they both mocked.

"So Rick why are you exactly part of the legion?" asked Nerissa as she loaded her rifle. He grinned at her before he spoke to her and to Beni.

"I was looking to have a good time." She laughed that had been the same reason she joined up, that and to get away from her mother’s sister who kept reminding her she wasn’t getting any younger and should be married with children by now. Nerissa noticed Beni in the corner of her eye was fidgeting with one of his many religious necklaces muttering about five trillion prayers from English to Hebrew. Rick raised an eyebrow and poked Beni's shoulder.

"Gimme your extra ammo and gun, you and I both know you won't even touch them." Nerissa glared before whining.

"Hey how come you get those? What about me!" Rick laughed and replied with something like 'I asked first!' As the three of them waited for commands but their Colonel threw down his sword and galloped off on his horse. Nerissa groaned as Rick, Beni and herself watched him flee.

"You just got promoted…" Beni said to Rick as they turned back to face the oncoming army. Nerissa sighed and shook her head telling Rick he better give orders.

" _Prenez vos Positions_!" shouted Rick as he aimed his gun. He then looked at his two friends and sighed.

"You're with me on this one right?" Nerissa nodded and looked to Beni for his answer.

"Oh your strength gives me strength…" he replied but two seconds later he dropped his rifle and sprinted towards the direction the Colonel went shouting for him to wait for him.

"Don't worry pal I won't leave you. Beni is just another coward now hurry up and give orders!" Rick nodded and yelled everyone to steady. Finally he shouted something along the lines of _fire at will_! Nerissa fired at a man and he fell dead seconds later. Men on both sides were being killed left and right. Before long she and Rick were forced to back up and run for their lives. She grabbed two pistols and fired rounds of bullets killing about eight per gun. Soon she was out of ammo and muttered a line of curses.

"Rick! Back me up! I have to reload my damn pistols!" Rick nodded as she ran and began loading her twin pistols. Rick soon was on his last bullets as well he looked up and saw Beni running.

"Run Beni! Run! Get inside! Get inside! _HEY_! Don't you close that door! Don't you close that door!" shouted Rick as he and Nerissa slammed up against the stone door. Nerissa yelped as Rick grabbed her hand and ran they jumped over a fallen pillar and ran up to the statue of Anubis. They jerked around as they heard the enemies' guns click and aim.

"Rick since we are gonna die and all I want you to know…y-you're my best American buddy…" Rick looked at her and nodded in agreement. Just then the horses reared and let out a shrill and ran off the riders yelping. Rick was the first to open his eyes.

"Uhm…they're gone…" he said looking around cautiously. Nerissa opened one eye then the other with a confused look.

"Not that I'm complaining…but I think I liked it better with them here…" Rick nodded in agreement just as sand shot up from the ground. Nerissa shrieked as sand formed a face she grabbed onto Rick and whimpered.

"I _knew_ the whole idea of coming here was _ludicrous_! The name says it all _CITY OF THE DEAD_!" Rick just stared as he decided to be smart and grab her hand and run. As he was running Nerissa shrieked as she tripped on a rock.

"What in the name of Seti! Who puts a rock there!" she wailed as she picked up the rock. It was a hexagon shaped object. She shoved it into her pocket as Rick yanked her up and pulled her out of the city. They began to run through the desert. When Nerissa looked up towards the cliffs and halted almost causing Rick to fall.

"RICK! Look up there and tell me I'm not crazy…that there are men up there." Rick squinted and nodded weakly before stumbling back in what they thought was the way to civilization.

"Hey Rick we there yet? This stupid hexagon thingy is actually quite heavy…" Rick looked at her and raised an eyebrow.

"Hexagon thingy? What hexagon thingy?" she rolled her eyes at her friend and held up the hexagon noticing the writing for the first time.

"It says something, let me just see here…it’s a bit scratched up. _To open: push in both sides and hold star up._ Okay…lemme see…" she did as it said only to shriek when it popped open.

"WOW IT OPENED! And there is a paper inside. It's a MAP! I FOUND A MAP! TREASURE! Or at least some way to a bar…I could go for a shot of vodka…no Jack…maybe a Bourbon…maybe even a Martini…which do you think Rick?” Rick just rolled his eyes at his friend and muttered something along the lines of her being insane.

"Oh…never mind scratch the bar…it's only a map back to Hamunaptra. Who'd wanna go _back_ anyway? I sure don't." Rick shrugged and just continued to trudge along in the ankle deep sand. Taking a sip of the small canteen he managed to snag on their way out he handed it to her.

"You realize we'll most likely die out here Princess?" he sighed after a while with a tone of boredom.

"One, don't call me _princess_. Two, we will _not_ until I get bloody wasted on Bourbon! I could still go for a shot of whiskey…no Jack…maybe a Bourbon…maybe even a Martini…ahh hell why not all four! We should make a toast to surviving and to the future of getting wasted! Only 'cause I'm bored…" Rick laughed while muttering how she said bloody and that he was pretty sure she might have a drinking problem.

"Sorry I picked up that from my dear friend Johnny! He's a lovely chap as he would say. In case you haven't realized he's a Brit…heyy he has a sister named Evelyn…I should introduce you two! THAT'S WHAT I'LL DO! I can see it know you two havin' little Rick Juniors! Ha that'd be entertainment! She'd probably name the kid after a famous scholar or worse a figure from ancient Egypt…like Alexander the Great, though technically he wasn’t even Egyptian so maybe Seti or if it's a girl Cleopatra or something like Nefertiti!" Rick just shoved her while laughing at her mental ideas.

"Oh look! Civilization! Race you to the bar! And don't think I'll go easy on you _Princess_!" grinned Rick as he shoved her and ran ahead of her.

"YOU NO GOOD ROTTEN CHEAT!" she screamed running after him. She then began screaming at him again.

"YOU DO WANT LITTLE ALEXANDER THE GREAT AND CLEOPATRA DON'T YOU! HEYY! RICK WAIT FOR ME! HELL IF YOU DON'T WAIT YOU'LL _NEVER_ HAVE KIDS! YOU SON OF A BITCH!" She screamed at the top of her lungs. She then sprinted and managed to be able to run beside him as the two of them got to the small city they ran straight for the bar. As they walked in belly dancer music met their ears. There were plenty of belly dancers around. Nerissa rolled her eyes at the site being disgusted she sat on a bar stool and ordered her bourbon. Rick just got a shot of whiskey. As Nerissa took a sip she sighed. The drink really hit the spot. It was warm yet cool as it slid down her throat. She looked at Rick from the corner of her eyes and smirked he was being hit on by a fairly _large_ belly dancer he then looked at her with a pleading look.

"Excuse me but you are flirting with my husband ma'am. I'd appreciate it if you'd take your flirtations elsewhere preferably away from me and my husband." She said in a calm collected voice, the woman looked at her with a pout and sauntered away from them. Nerissa let out a laugh at the look on Rick's face it was a mixture of hate and gratitude. "You're welcome _Richard_!" she spat mockingly. He turned bright red as he ordered another shot of whiskey.

"Thanks _Mrs._ O'Connell!" he said mockingly with a wink. "So you got any guy friends you plan on settling down with? I mean come on Nerissa you're 21 years old you got to settle down now!" Nerissa laughed and shook her head.

"My god you sound like my Aunt Rachel! And nope I plan on living a few more wild and free decades…" he smirked and then asked her another question.

"What about this Jon guy? Why not settle down with him?" she glared and then burst into laughter.

"Oh sure and why don't you give me children while you're at it? I would never be able to be with Jon…he's like a brother…I mean sure he was my first kiss…but he was like ten and those urges came _early_! And it was just a peck then I punched him in the gut. Kissing him would be like kissing you." Rick raised an eyebrow.

"Both you guys are like brothers to me; I'd never kiss either of you in a romantic way…but maybe sisterly way. Besides I want a…" she began blushing then spoke again. "A…a…cowboy. You know? I like blondes way better! And I want a guy that'll let me shoot a gun, ride a horse with none of that side saddle shit, run around in damn pants and if I wanted to play in the dirt and mud…I just want a guy that would let me be me. And it may take awhile to find a guy like that for me…that and I want a guy that loves bourbon as much as I do!" Rick slung an arm around her shoulders with a grin.

"You forgot love for poker! If I see a guy that fits the description I'll let you know okay 'Rissa?" She grinned and nodded giving him a sisterly hug. She had indeed found a one of a kind best friend.


	3. That Stupid Thing?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is quite frustrating to re-read to edit, when I originally wrote this my writing style was very different. I've come a long way in my writing and it shows hopefully the edits are improving it a bit. And I am desperately trying to flesh Nerissa out a bit more to be less of a possible Mary-Sue. Please let me know if I am succeeding or if I am failing miserably...does anyone even read this?

Nerissa was sitting on a throne like chair watching Jonathon try to climb into a tomb with a raised eyebrow. She had been back for a few weeks now having visited her family estate in the states before returning to Egypt, and she was just glad to be far away from the damn city of the dead that horrible trip had been a few years ago and if it were in her control it would be a few more before she even wanted to hear its damn name. 

She sadly lost contact with Rick after a while but knowing he was a grown man that could take care of himself settled her nerves. Now if it had been Jonathan then that would be a different story. Despite his age he was what Nerissa liked to call a man child. Always getting into trouble, like at that very moment. Museum rules never applied to the older Carnahan as he was leaning over one of the mummy displays.

"Johnny? What _are_ you doing? You realize a dead…person is in that thing?" She asked her friend as he nearly fell on his face. It was obvious he was hung over.

"Well Rissy I plan on-ohh. Scaring Evie. And by doing so I must get in here." He slurred as he fell into the casket landing on a mummy. She stifled a laugh as he groaned in pain.

"Well you know I don't think the mummy there would like to have your rancid breath in its face. It's so bad today it could wake the dead! Well not really wake it…but ah who cares? So how long do you think it will take Evy to show up?" she asked as Jonathan sat up arm around the mummy.

"Not a clue. Why don't you hide? It'll be like old times!" he said with a childish grin.

"Oh you mean like the time you _left me_ in some tomb like that one? Three hours in that damn thing Jonathan! THREE HOURS! I screamed for THREE HOURS! Finally my father found me and opened the damn thing! So…NO I WILL NOT HIDE." She growled at him he simply shrugged and lay down with the mummy.

"Fine I'll hide up on that pillar ledge thing…" she said as she began to climb up the pillar.

"No, no! Come in here with me! It'll make it even better!" he paused before thinking about what he said. "Wait…not like _that_ please don't, kill me!" She sighed as she climbed down and hopped in shoving the mummy on Jonathan.

Just then Jonathan began to moan really loudly making Nerissa stare at him.

"Jon? What are you doing? Please tell me you aren't shagging that damn mummy! I know it’s been a while for you but please keep you fetishes away from my poor eyes." she questioned as she looked at her friend.

"No I am trying to get Evy's attention! And it hasn’t been that long dear friend! In fact there was this lovely lady by the name of Ro… _something_. She was quite charmed by my accent! Until her husband came home early…but different story for a different time! So _HUSH_!" he whispered harshly. Nerissa just nodded as she heard Evy’s heels clicking as she walked in. She didn't hear Evie talking but she heard her walk closer. Just then Jonathan tapped her arm signaling that it was time to jump out. Both flew forward causing the mummy's torso to spring out of the tomb making Evy scream.

"OH DEAR LORD!" she grabbed her chest in terror as she jumped back a few feet. Only to glare when she saw the two friends sit up laughing.

"You two are going to get me fired! Now get out of there!" Shouted Evelyn. Nerissa and Jonathan hopped out in laughter. Jon wrapped an arm around both girls.

"Oh come on Ev! It won't kill you…it's just a dead…mummy!" she said in an eerie voice. "When dead it stays dead!" laughed Nerissa. Evelyn just glared at her friend.

"Aww…don't be mad at me it was all Jon!" she said in mock desperation; which made Evelyn laugh a little.

"Here Evy; tell me I found something here! I won it in a poker game…" Jonathan said as he handed his sister a small hexagon. Nerissa stared at it with wonder and noticed it was her box.

"SHIT! GET THAT AWAY FROM ME!" she screamed jumping back a few feet making Evelyn gasp in shock.

"Good heavens! Nerissa are you alright? As to what you said Jonathan you have found something! We must show Dr. Bey! He'll know what to do with it!"

"OH! GOOD A MAP! I love maps!" Jonathan practically squealed. Nerissa bit her lip. If they had the map it would only end badly. She knew where it led to; hell it was technically her puzzle box slash map! She knew she should've burnt the damn map!

"So Dr. Bey what do you make of it?" questioned Evelyn as Dr. Bey looked at the map.

"It is authentic…but then again it could be for trickery or ones' entertainment. Many have died trying to find Hamunaptra." Nerissa bit her tongue to prevent her from throwing her two cents into the matter. But as she looked closer she noticed Dr. Bey held the map towards a candle and watched it burn with a small grin before gasping out in fake terror.

"YOU BURNT IT! BLOODY HELL A CORNOR IS BURNT OFF!" Jonathan wailed in displeasure and terror.

"Maybe that's a good thing? Who wants to go to the city of the _Dead_? I mean seriously it's not like you'll find Seti himself or anything…all there is; is a dumb statue of Anubis not much of a thrill if you ask me…" at this Nerissa noticed her mistake as all three people turned to look at her with wide eyes.

"How?" Was all Dr. Bey could get out Nerissa gave a sheepish laugh.

"I uh…heard the ancient lore?" she hoped they would buy it, though it seemed only Jonathan believed her. But Dr. Bey just shook it off and turned his attention back to Evelyn.

After Evelyn and Jon had talked about what to do next they decided to go to the man that Jon got the box from. Nerissa wasn't paying attention to what they were saying so when they pulled up to a prison she raised an eyebrow.

"What are we doing here Jon? Are you looking to find Evy a husband? 'Cause I don't recommend finding one here…" she said with a laugh Jon joined in as Evie glared at them.

"No the guy I swiped the box from is in here now. So we're going to find him and ask him about it." At this Nerissa raised her eyebrows and gave a small smile; to herself. After the warden led them to the 'man' Jon was talking about they led out a dirty looking prisoner she smirked as she saw Rick. And let out a laugh as he called Evy a broad and knocked Jon out.

"And whose this?" he asked looking up at her, only he could barely recognize her because she had her hair stuffed up in a hat much like Jonathan's. So she decided to have some fun.

"Me, darling? Surely you recognize me? I am after all your _wife_! I have been the faithful wife for years and instead of being angry you spent your free time with belly dancers I _save_ your arse from a belly dancer and such yet you forget all about me?" she wailed as she pulled off her hat throwing it to the ground; her blonde falling down to her shoulders. Rick's eyes went wide as the others just stared at her with wide eyes and open mouths. But Rick having a sense of humor and knowing Nerissa went along with it.

"Why _darling_ …I hardly recognized you! Did you do something different with your hair? It’s looks lovely dear! Don't you look lovely Ness! I missed you!" he said jokingly making Evy just look between the two.

"Oh Ricky darling we missed you so! Little Robert misses you so!" she laughed as Rick beamed.

"How is the little man? And how's Cora? I miss her too!" at this Evie turned around to glare at Nerissa.

"WHAT IS GOING ON HERE? You are _married_ to this man? And you had _children_ with him?" She screamed waving her arms around.

"Me? Married? Hell no Evy. We're just joking! He's my buddy ain't yah Rick?" Rick nodded and grinned. Evelyn just whispered an 'oh' and blushed.

"Rick this is _Evelyn_ and you just knocked out ol' _Johnny_." She said hinting these were the ones she mentioned before. At this Rick looked down at Jon and muttered an 'oops'. Nerissa turned around to look for the warden to see if she could get him out of prison while Evy began asking him about the box. But as she turned around she saw Rick kiss her.

"Wow didn't see that one coming… _yet_." She said to herself as they began to drag him off. She heard the warden tell Evelyn he was going to be hanged.

"WAIT! HANGED? Oh god Evelyn we have to stop them from hanging Rick! He saved my ass _multiple_ times! And he's my best American buddy!" she cried out tears brimming her eyes. Nerissa was never very good a losing people just the thought of it made her an emotional wreak, the stereotypical emotional woman her Aunt craved for her to be and it disgusted Nerissa more than anything. But it was quite possible that her best friend was going to hang and she felt helpless, how do you bribe a warden who wants nothing more than to see the man hang? Shooting first instead of talking would only complicate the matter so it was up to Evelyn.

After Evelyn had managed to save Rick's life they had him promise to meet up with them. In the mean time Nerissa planned to stay with Rick until then. When she saw him walking out of the prison she ran over to him with tears in her eyes.

"DON'T EVER! _EVER_ DO THAT TO ME AGAIN!" she screamed as she smacked his chest repeatedly before he grabbed her arms.

"Ness…stop I already nearly died today…" he said as an attempted joke. But Nerissa didn't find it the slightest bit humorous.

"Don't even O'Connell! I thought I was going to lose you!" After sharing the awkward friend hug they left to find a hotel for the night. Nerissa walked in and booked a room for the night and then told Rick to stay put.

"I have to find you some clothes…you can't expect to wear that shitty thing. I'll get you about four different outfits…that alright with you? The rest I can have sent to a hotel or something…it pays inheriting my parents' wealth I guess…now get a shower you look worse than that nasty warden." She said before she left the room to go to some shops.

After shopping for nearly two hours she decided to head back to the hotel. When she got back she noticed Rick was only in a towel and froze.

"Shit…uhh I got you some clothes? Damn what did you work out in Prison too?" Nerissa said staring at his chest. He smirked as he watched her remove the towel with her eyes.

"Alright there Ness?" Rick asked with a grin she just smacked him only to hit that muscular chest of his.

"Oh…damn." She whispered as she looked up at him. Was it just her or did it get hot in the room? She licked her lips quickly as she did so he brought a hand up to her cheek. She watched as he slowly moved towards her she out of instinct moved forward as well. They both stopped millimeters from the other.

"Rick…" she whispered before he kissed her. At first it was just a peck but then it turned passionate. Her hands moved up to his hair and latched on his damp locks. They both opened their eyes and stopped the kiss staring at the other before pulling away.

"That was awkward..." she whispered as she looked him in the eye again.

"Maybe because it was the first? We could try again?" he suggested she just nodded as he kissed her again. Only seconds later they pulled apart again.

"Any different?" he asked she just shook her head.

"No…like kissing a brother…sorry…" she said avoiding his gaze she noticed him staring at anything but her; before she burst into fits of laughter.

"Look at us! God what the hell is wrong with us! I was planning on setting you up with Evy and you were going to help me find an American Cowboy!" she yelled rolling her eyes.

"This never happened right?" he asked wincing slightly she nodded her head fervently.

"Alrighty…moving on now!" she said as she hurried to pack a small duffle bag with clothes and another with some guns and knives.

A few pistols, a shot gun and even some dynamite, making the duffle bag packed with the essentials only the best! Packing up the rest of her things was easy and took less than a minute, unlike Evy she didn't bother with foolish things such as folding. It took too much time!

When it was time to go to the docks Nerissa rolled her eyes at Rick who was pampering himself in front of them mirror like a teenage boy for his first date.

"Rick stop acting like a girl and let’s go Evy will think you're Adonis himself…even though she likes Egypt mythology better than Greek…now get your fat ass out that door mister!" As she began to walk out the door; purposely smacking him in the gut with her bag.

"Gee thanks Ness I was hoping to get a bruise before we left. Thank you for practically reading my mind!" Rick growled in mock anger making Nerissa laugh.

"You know me the American Seer, next time I’ll have to charge you for a vision. Let's go! You have to _woo_ Evy with your devilish good looks! It'll make up for your shitty personality…you never did have a good personality Rick, So tragic really." Nerissa said with a laugh making Rick stick his tongue out at her.

At the docks she saw Evy and Jon waiting knowing Evy she was probably saying that Rick most likely wouldn't show and Nerissa would most likely be at a bar. Nerissa laughed at the comment and how in a matter of seconds Evie was a blushing school girl at the sight of Rick who thankfully cleaned up pretty good.

"And Evy _darlin'_ I came prepared! Instead of wasting my time alone in some bar I brought my own drinks! Look, see I brought Bourbon! Isn't amazing how prepared I am these days? I scare myself sometimes at my preparedness!" At her comment Evy rolled her eyes and walked up the plank only to be practically shoved out of the way by the fat smelly warden.

"Who invited the fat ass? If I knew he was coming I'd of brought perfume…by the truck load. Great I think I am going to be sick!" Nerissa growled in anger not even listening to the warden. Minding her own business she walked past her friends and bumped into a tall man.

"HOLY SHIT!" she screamed as she fell back only to be caught by strong arms. Looking up she saw a blonde man…an American Cowboy.

"You alright there miss? Sorry I wasn't looking where I was going…" The man had blue eyes; her weakness was bright blue eyes now she was certain she was blushing like a school girl.

"Neither was I…it's, alright luckily you have quick reflexes or I'd be pretty sore about now…" she said with a smirk. At least she still had the ability to think properly.

"Jacob Henderson, you can call me Jake. And you are?" God she was falling in love with his voice she was ready to give him a dictionary to listen to him read it!

"Nerissa Wilson at your service. Wait no, I take that back I'm not a prostitute. No I would never even consider that for an occupation…I understand some may feel they have no choice…and oh no…but my name is Nerissa…ah fuck I'm babbling!" she said making him chuckle.

"I never thought you were a prostitute. You're too pretty, all the ones in this country are ugly old hags…not that I'd know. I…just oh look you got me babbling too now!" Henderson said with a laugh it made his blue eyes sparkle and that sent a shiver down Nerissa's spine.


	4. This Place is About to Blow!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> On Fanfiction.net I had dedicated this chapter to Laurafxox so it only seems fitting to do so again.

Nerissa was lounging on a deck chair watching Jonathan play poker. She would never admit to Evy but she was helping him win. Studying every one of the Americans he was playing, waiting for their tells which was rather easy, after the first few rounds of the game. Henderson would take a drink from his Bourbon when he was nervous, Burns would push his glasses up and Daniels’ finger twitched on his cards. The signals were subtle, for Henderson she would push some hair behind her ears, Burns she would rub her nose and for Daniels she would pop her gum. As of now the three men had no idea as to her helping as she pretended to read _Robin Hood_.

 

She had made a deal with Jon to split the winnings fifty-fifty, just like they always did.

                                                                                                

“So where are you chaps off to?” Jonathan asked casually as he looked up at Nerissa who signaled that both Burns and Daniels were bluffing.

 

“Hamunaptra, where are you going?” Jonathan raised an eyebrow once hearing they were going to the same place.

 

“Ness? What are you doing?” Rick said as he sat down next to her. He slowly saw her signal to Jonathan again and smirked.

“You dirty cheat. Sure hope he is giving you some of the winnings. Anyway I was wondering…what’s the story on Evelyn?” Nerissa froze for a moment before bursting into a fit of laughter. The men playing poker all turned to look at her. Rick turned a little pink as he cleared his throat.

 

“Sorry Rick it’s just been, what two hours since you kissed me and then you ask about my friend? Wow I feel loved. But she is single because only a lunatic would marry her or even date her. She is married to her research. She likes reading a lot, her parents died when she was sixteen. You know about her brother well enough as you punched him in the face, which many like to do. She loves Egypt and everything about it. Even the smelly camels, have I mention before that I hate them? I’ve rambled and such and made myself look like a mad woman again but now you know.” She said with a chuckle. Rick just grinned at his best friend.

 

“I kissed you? You kissed me Ness.” He said with a wink Nerissa just laughed as he got up to walk towards Jonathan.

 

“NO! YOU _KISSED_ ME!” She yelled before realizing what she said. She felt her cheeks turn red as her friend winked at her again, before she turned she saw Henderson stare at her. His beautiful blue eyes were dark with jealousy which made her blush even more. She noticed Rick point discreetly to him and mouth ‘found him’. After all these years he remembered the type of man she was looking for. She didn’t know whether to be proud or concerned. With a quick shrug she got up out of her seat and walked towards her room humming to herself quietly.

 

Slowly opening her door she looked down at her Pointer dog that she brought with her. The dog barked in excitement at seeing her.

“Hush Indy! Now where did you put my hat? Did you hide it again? Ugh if it’s under the bed again I’m going to smack you Boo. Aha! There, now what did I tell you, you little scamp! Putting my hat under the bed?” She grabbed her fedora and stood up, turning towards the mirror she screamed in surprise. There was a man with rotten teeth behind her with a curved knife raised above her. Indy growled as he bit the man’s leg pulling him away, the man tried to shake him off when Nerissa grabbed her book and smacked the man in the face.

 

“TAKE THAT CREEP! THAT’LL TEACH YOU TO COME INTO _MY_ ROOM!” The man let out a yelp of pain and his nose crunched under the book. Nerissa brought her knee up into his groin and bolted towards her duffle bag of weapons grabbing it she pulled out her Colt 1911 and fired a shot in the man’s forehead, killing him instantly. As he fell she spun on her heel and swung her bag over her shoulder bolting out of the room, Indy followed at her heels.

 

Not even a hundred feet from her room was, complete chaos men and women screaming in terror, gun shots coming from every direction and flames devouring the ship. She let out a gasp as she saw the American’s fighting off men in black in true American cowboy style, firing shots from their pistols with entertained yelps of excitement. She felt herself smirk at the sight before letting out a scream as a man tackled her. Quickly pulling a knife out of her brown knee high heeled boot she shoved it into the man’s gut with a brutal twist. She flipped the man over her with her other leg and he landed with a sick thud. Nerissa quickly jumped to her feet and spun around to fight another man dressed in black. With her skilled hand she swung her blade out and sliced his cheek with a frustrated grunt. Silently thanking her father for teaching her some self-defense over the years. She dodged his attacks but the man was also skilled and sliced the back of her right hand. Thankfully she was a left hander, but it still stung. She gasped as he raised his menacing blade ready for a kill blow before a shot rang out. The man’s eyes went wide before he fell back with a bullet between his brown eyes. She turned to see who had saved her and blushed when she saw Henderson grinning at her as he gave her a flirtatious wink. Leave it to the American Cowboy to still charm a woman in the heat of battle. God it was such a turn on, but she had other things to worry about like _surviving_!

 

Before she could smile back Jonathan came stumbling towards her holding the dreaded puzzle box. She saw that Henderson was once again saving her and this time Jon’s ass as he shot a man on fire that was running towards them, she briefly heard Jon say something about not panicking before falling overboard.

 

“Run! This place is about to blow!” Henderson screamed as he ran towards her. She screamed as his arms wrapped around her waist pulling her overboard with him. The rush of water filling her lungs made her panic. She couldn’t swim! She felt herself being pulled up as she struggled and clawed to get to the surface. The second air filled her tired lungs she let out an ear piercing scream.

 

“I CAN’T SWIM! PLEASE DON’T LET ME GO!” she said grabbing on to Henderson like he was her personal floatation device. She felt him shift so she was holding onto his back, she tried not to strangle her savior but she was terrified. He began to swim towards the shore to safety and dry land.

 

“Don’t worry Rissa I got you.” He said between strokes finally he got to the point where they could both stand. Nerissa turned to look at him with tears in her eyes, she hated being weak but she couldn’t help it. Yet she was thankful this man a complete stranger saved her multiple times in less than five minutes. She stood on her tip toes and gave him a grateful kiss on his warm lips. Before she could pull away he pulled her closer. Her wet navy peasant blouse stuck to his own shirt yet she didn't care. This kiss was far different from the ones she had before. As they pulled apart for some air she felt something nudge her leg, she looked down to see Indy with her soaking wet fedora in his mouth.

 

“Thank you Mr. Henderson I owe you…” she whispered as her cheeks turned bright red with embarrassment, asking herself what was wrong with her she couldn’t stop blushing around this man. His blue eyes sparkled as he gave her another flirtatious wink.

 

“Call me Jake, and no problem. Love to help a pretty lady. I’ll let you get back to your friends. See you around Rissa. By the way you are even more beautiful when you blush sweetheart.” He said with a grin before kissing her slightly swollen lips one last time. She stood there with a dumbfound grin on her face, her fingers on her lips. Bending down to take her fedora from Indy’s mouth she chuckled at the dog. She was quite certain she would die from overheating…was it possible to even die from blushing too much? She was pretty sure she was going to find out.

 

“Indiana I think I found my cowboy…” she whispered before treading towards her friends in the knee deep water. She saw Rick smirking at her and rubbed the back of her neck, he was never going to let her live this down.

 

“What was that about Ness? Hmm did you need some help breathing? So nice of Henderson to give you some air.” He said with a laugh before Beni’s annoying voice was heard on the other side of the river.

 

“HEY O’CONNEL! LOOKS LIKE I HAVE ALL THE HORSES! YOU AND NERISSA DON’T!”

 

“HEY BENI LOOKS TO ME THAT YOU’RE ON THE WRONG SIDE OF THE _RI-VER_!” Nerissa let out a laugh as Beni looked around and realized Rick was right, Rick laughed as well as Beni kicked the water spitting out curses in Hungarian.

 

“Rick, I am so glad we are still friends. You never cease to make my day.” She said with a laugh.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Quick note mouth to mouth in order to help one breathe didn't truly exist until about 1946, as a history major I felt I should at least point out I am aware of this little mistake. I made it because it fit the story if not the time frame.


	5. Desert Heat

It was still early when the five of them had found a small Nomad village. Nerissa was tired as hell and just wanted to sleep. The women in the village made a bee-line towards her and Evy with smiles.

 

“Uh what do they want? Evy what do these women want?” Nerissa asked as a little girl covered head to toe in black grabbed her hand and pulled her towards a tent.

 

“They wish to give us new clothes. How nice of them considering I lost all of mine.” Nerissa groaned, she liked her clothes, she didn’t want new ones. Her navy peasant blouse was comfortable even with the detailed brown belt under her average sized bust. Sure black pants were a bit on the warm side with the desert sun but they were comfortable enough to run, sit or just plain walk in. And her boots her favorite pair of brown leather heeled boots; she wouldn’t trade them for anything!

 

Nerissa flinched as the little girl began to play with her leather cuff bracelet with the circular rose stone on her left wrist. That cuff covered the tattoo on her wrist; it was the Eye of Horus. A tattoo that a man given her when she was drunk. It was quite a shock to find in the morning even more of one when she noticed that Rick had the same one on his hand.  Only while Rick’s was the size of a dime hers was the size of a silver dollar. The little girl grinned as she then began to fiddle with her other bracelet on her other wrist it was a black cord bracelet with intricate knots to make it look like a rope, Jonathan had the same one. She made them when she was eight and the two of them still wore them constantly, it was a clichéd symbol of their constant friendship. She remembered that Evy was jealous about them so she made her a small cartouche pendant that said ‘Evelyn’ she still wore it behind her locket.

 

“Those rings were my mother’s.” She whispered to the girl who was staring at the three small diamond covered rings on her left middle finger. The little girl smiled as she held up a small golden locket as she opened it Nerissa saw a picture of a beautiful Arabic woman holding a toddler and a kind looking man.

 

“Your parents?” she asked as she pointed to the couple, the girl whispered the word for mother in Arabic. One of the few words Nerissa knew. She smiled at the little girl touching her sun kissed cheek.

 

“You look like her.” She whispered as the girl smiled and reached for her other hand looking at the ring on her middle finger. It was a cocktail ring that Evy bought her for her eighteenth birthday, a gold ring with an amber colored stone and little stones surrounding it in the same color. She still found herself sitting in the sun every so often watching the sun reflect off it.

 

“Do you like that? Look at my earrings too kiddo. I have two sets. I was…uhm…bored? I got them pierced twice. Don’t know anyone else who was crazy enough to do so. But it drove my Aunt Rachel crazy! See I have smoky quartz for the dangles. And gold studs for the second hole.” She said as the girl studied the small smoky quartz earrings. But it was her jeweled ankh necklace that drew the girl’s attention the most.

 

“Ankh. _Life_.” She said in broken English, as she studied the pendant that was the size of her small thumb.

 

“Yeah ankh. My parents got it for me, before they died. I was nineteen, there was an accident and they both died.” She whispered it was the first time she talked about her parents in nearly five years. She felt tears prickle behind her long lashes. She could barely remember her mother’s face with her blonde hair and bright green eyes, or her father’s laugh that reached his blue eyes. She sat there looking off into the distance watching a little boy playing with his parents. She had been burying her pain for years refusing to cry but this one little girl brought back the memories. Ones she wished would stay buried and locked away.

 

“Miss them?” the little girl whispered as she stumbled on the English words. Nerissa looked at the girl and nodded. The girl pulled her towards a man that was tending to a horse.

 

“Adiva, who is this?” The man asked in both Arabic and English. Nerissa realized that this was the girl’s father.

 

“I’m Nerissa. I was just talking to your daughter, she is beautiful sir.” The man smiled as he nodded.

 

“She looks just like her mother. Are those your friends Nerissa, over there with Amir?” Nerissa turned to see Jonathan trying to get some camels and laughed.

 

“Yes we need some camels to travel…I wish we still had the horses we started with.” She muttered the man smiled.

 

“Take Barakah, she is a good horse. A gift for making my daughter smile, she hasn’t smiled in so long. Not since her mother was still alive.” Nerissa looked at the man with shock written over her face. She looked at the beautiful white horse and bit her lip.

 

“I couldn’t! She is your horse sir.” She tried to reason with him but he wouldn’t listen.

“She was my wife’s horse. She would want to give her to you if she were in my place. Please take her; I want you to have her. She is a wonderful horse, but she brings memories of my wife. I think it is time to let go of the past and live for tomorrow.” Nerissa nodded softly as the man handed her the reigns.

 

“Thank you. Here take this as a thank you. I won’t take no as an answer.” She said handing the man her copy of _Robin Hood_.

 

“I was going to give it away anyway. I give away the books I finish.” She said with a smile the man grinned.

 

“Ah I had this as a boy! I sold it along with some other books to get my wife this very horse!” Nerissa gave a small laugh. She walked towards Jon with a smile as he continued to get some camels. The man was obviously trying to rip Jon off.

 

“You only need four now. A man gave me his horse.” Jon turned to look at her with a huff.

 

“He is charging me for the whole bloody herd! I don’t need any more than four now! GIVE ME FOUR! NO MORE!” he yelled Nerissa grinned as she shook her head.

 

“It would’ve been a lot easier if you traded your sister.” Nerissa spun around to glare at Rick.

 

“Really? Wow you’re pathetic Rick!” she snapped Rick just shrugged.

 

“We could trade you instead Ness. I’m sure he’d like you. Being blonde you must be exotic to him.” Nerissa’s eyes widened as she looked at the man.

 

“You know what Evy knows his native language so they have more in common! We can trade her!” she squeaked. The two men just chuckled at their nervous friend. Rick’s laughter came to a sudden stop when Evy came out in new clothes and kohl around her eyes. He was completely smitten, and Nerissa didn’t plan on letting him live it down any time soon.

 

The sun was unbearable in the desert heat. She could feel herself burning; she wanted to curse her Irish decent. At least the horse was doing better than her. She looked down to see Indy chasing a random desert hare barking as it hopped around. She couldn’t help but laugh at his silly antics. She tried to block the sun by pulling her fedora lower over her burnt face but it didn’t do much for her.

 

“Stupid sun, stupid heat. Is it too much to want an eclipse? Just block out the damn sun so I don’t melt here!” she whined as the Warden began to sing off key. It was official she was ready to kill someone if it meant she would get out of the damn heat.

 

“It could be worse Ness; at least we have water this time.” Nerissa turned to look at Rick.

 

“Easy for you to say I am sharing my water with a horse and dog! Where was that old well at? I am so thirsty I could drink an ocean!” she said with a tired sigh.

 

“The salt in the ocean water would kill you Nerissa. You would dehydrate faster that way than out here. And if you managed to live you would be very ill.” Evelyn pointed out which just made her roll her eyes.

 

“Details, details Evy. I’m just thirsty. Leave it at that alright?” she snapped, she didn’t want to be bitchy but the heat was getting to her.

 

“The well is a bit farther. By the time we get there it’ll be night fall and we can rest for the night. Just hold out a bit longer Ness.” Nerissa just hoped it wouldn’t be much longer.

 

Finally nearly five hours later they reached the old well. It was just as Nerissa remembered it being, a small abandoned well in the middle of the desert.

“We’ll camp here for the night. Set up the tents here.” Rick said as he stretched his sore muscles. Nerissa couldn’t imagine what being on a camel was like if a horse hurt. Slowly sliding off the horse she led it to the well.

 

“Drink up.” She said as she handed a water filled bucket to the horse which greedily drank. Indy was nudging her leg and whimpering letting her know he was thirsty too she pulled a tin cup out of her saddle bag and filled it with some of the water in her canteen.

 

“Enjoy Indy; it’s the last of my water until the horse is done.” Jon came over with a yawn as he handed her his own canteen.

 

“You need to drink some too. Have mine I can wait.” He said as she gave a grateful nod before drinking the cold liquid.

 

“Thanks Jon. Man I hate the desert endless miles of nothing but sand. How do you think the Americans are handling?” She asked as she leaned back onto Jon who was leaning up against the well.

 

“You mean that Henderson chap? I saw that kiss. You seemed to be enjoying it.” He said with a smirk and a wink.

 

“Shut up Jon that’s none of your business. But I care about the others, minus Beni and that Egyptologist. Those two get on my nerves. What about you? Hmm? I didn’t get the chance to ask if you found a future Mrs. Carnahan I want godchildren! Are you going to leave it up to Evy to give them to me?” she laughed, it was moments like this with Jon that she loved. The two of them could always just sit there and enjoy each other’s company. The two of them acted like twins as kids always finding mischief. While Evy was the golden child they were the troublemakers.

 

“No can’t say I have. But remember our deal if we don’t find someone by your thirtieth birthday we are getting married! Remember our mothers tried to pair us up? I swear Mum was planning the wedding from the day we met, you in your overalls and short sleeved shirt. Missing a tooth and dirt on your little sun burnt freckled cheeks.” He said as he poked her cheek making her chuckle.

 

“Let’s not forget you in your prep school uniform that stupid little tie and blazer in the desert heat! You were a chubby little thing! What were we five and ten? I miss those days; you remember when my dad brought the sleds on the dig? We were sledding on sand dunes! Now that was an Egyptian Christmas to remember! I loved making sand angels! And the sand people those were fun too! Evy was so young too she was only two, with her little braids and that frilly dress!” The two friends laughed at the memories of their childhood. It wasn’t long until the two fell asleep leaning against each other.

 

When morning finally came Nerissa found herself lying on Jon’s lap and Indy curled up against her side his head resting on Jon’s legs. She sat up and stretched with a big yawn.

 

“Is it morning already?” Jon mumbled as he cracked his neck and back while stretching as well.

 

“Yep, time for another day of melting in the desert. I don’t know about you but I’m having a blast! Note my sarcasm.” She groaned as she stood up and looked around; Rick was making what she could only guess was coffee.

 

“You two want some coffee?” He yelled confirming her suspicions. She felt her nose scrunch up in disgust, she _hated_ coffee. Not just the taste but the smell of it too she always had.

 

“I rather drink piss Rick and you know that!” she said as she sat next to him.

Within ten minutes the camp was packed up and they continued to make their way to Hamunaptra. It was when they saw a valley littered with skeletons of soldiers that she knew they were close.

 

“I knew that guy.” Rick said pointing to one of them making the others gag silently. Nerissa noticed one man with an eye patch and frowned.

 

“That bastard owed me money. Never did get that ten dollars, last time I lend money to a man with an eye patch!” she snapped as she passed him she heard Rick and Jon chuckle. After making their way through the valley Nerissa looked up towards the cliffs and sighed, the men on horseback were still watching them just like they had three years ago.

 

“Rick?” she questioned he turned to look at her briefly before responding.

 

“I see them too.” He whispered quietly as to not alert the others of the observers.


	6. Here We Go Again

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I realized that what seems like a lot on fanfiction.net is barely anything with this format. Oh well this story has a few filler chapters so they will have to do.

The sun was brutal today worse than the other days, as if it was trying to stop their journey to the lost city.

 

“Finally we are almost there. I think my ass fell asleep on this horse. I feel bad for you all riding _camels_.” Before any of the others could respond the sound of hoof beats met their tired ears.

 

“Good morning my friends.” Beni said with an arrogant smirk, one that made Nerissa flinch in disgust. 

 

“Well, look what we found. Nice to see you all made it.” Henderson’s voice said from behind Nerissa. She turned around and blushed as he winked at her.

 

“Actually I care more that you made it Rissa.” He whispered with a grin. She noticed that he once again called her Rissa, he was the only one that ever did and she couldn’t find it in herself to complain. She actually liked the way it rolled of his tongue, the very tongue…she found herself blushing even more.  

 

“What the hell we doin’?” Daniels asked as he leaned forward on his horse with a bored sigh.

 

“Patience, my good barat’m patience.” Beni said making everyone raise an eyebrow.

 

“What the fuck does that mean?” Nerissa whispered which just resulted in Jon shrugging.

 

“Remember our bet, O’Connell. First one to the city, 500 cash bucks.” Henderson said while spitting some of his chewing tobacco out. Nerissa eyed the tobacco and felt herself tap her saddle bag which carried her _Lucky Strikes_. She was trying to quit but still loved the taste of the bitter tobacco she smoked.

 

“Here we go again. We're about to be shown the way.” Rick said as he patted his camel’s head casually. Nerissa was getting nervous, she hadn’t been back in three years and frankly she didn’t want to be going back. She could still picture the face in the sand and it terrified her. As to what else could be under that damn sand, she had a feeling it was more than she was willing to deal with.

 

As the city began to appear the travelers minus Rick, Nerissa and Beni all gasped. A few muttered ‘I’ll be damned’ making Nerissa chuckle. She was one of those people three years ago before she knew what was there.

 

“Hey boys I’ll be glad to spare you the embarrassment of us beating you there if you give me the cash now.” Nerissa said with a smirk Daniels just laughed at her but Henderson grinned.

 

“Rissa how about when I beat you there how about you gimme another kiss?” He said with a self-assured smirk.

 

“That’s _if_ you beat me Henderson. But what will I get if I beat you? Hmm? What if I don’t want another kiss?” She held back a laugh as she saw his smile falter. “Tell you what if I win you owe me dinner _and_ a drink. I like Bourbon just so you know.” She saw his eye brighten at the mention of the drink.

 

“Marry me. Marry me right now please.” He said with a wide grin making her laugh.

 

“Let’s see how that dinner and drink goes pal.” She gave him a flirtatious wink of her own before spurring her horse on.  Her childhood equestrian lessons were kicking in as the horse galloped across the sand, Henderson hot on her tail. Indy was close behind barking joyously at the freedom. By the time she was at the city walls she laughing at the rush of adrenaline, her horse gracefully jumped the stone wall.

 

“I think _I_ won Henderson.” She said with a grin as she got off her horse he was already walking towards her with his warm smile.

 

“So you did. And it looks like your friend got to the city before the rest of us so you win the cash too. Too bad I was looking forward to that kiss.” She let out a school girlish giggle at his response. He was about to say something else but she stood on her tip toes and kissed him briefly before turning to leave. Henderson grabbed her hand and spun her back around with a smirk and kissed her again. When they pulled apart she was breathless. Thankfully she wasn’t the only one; there was something about this man. She felt as if she knew him for years not just a few days.

 

“See you around _Jake_.” She said with a smirk as she turned to walk away only to run into a large pillar.

 

“OH SHIT! There is a pillar thing. I knew that…I just wanted to read it better. I swear really! I’m going to go now…over there where the others are. Bye.” She said turning red as she ran off towards the others.

 

Hopefully the others hadn’t seen her run into a pillar especially Rick who already laughed at her for other things. She quietly slid next to Jon who was tapping his fingers on his bottom lip as he looked over some carvings on a stone wall.

 

“Nice move over there, very graceful Rissy. And I thought Evy couldn’t get Egypt off her mind. You quite latterly have it on yours, right down to the _imprint_ of that pillar love.” Nerissa glared at her best friend as she shoved him.

 

“I meant to do that really I did.” She muttered as she tried rubbing the imprint off her forehead.

 

“You swear Rissy?” she smirked at his question she had the perfect comeback to that. One Rick had been on the receiving end of several times.

 

“Every damn day Jon.” He let out a laugh as Rick walked up to them.

 

“Me too Ness! Though I don’t think that’s what he meant. At least it wasn’t what his sister meant back at the prison.” The three found, themselves chuckling as Evy was going on about the statues in the background. She turned to sneak a look at Henderson who was talking to the Egyptologist about something before she heard Evy let out an excited squeal.

 

“What? What just happened? Evy why did you squeal?” she said as she spun around to look at her friend.

 

“ _THIS_! This is the Statue of Anubis. Its legs go underground! Look you can still see some of the black paint on it!” As Nerissa studied the statue she let out a small whimper of fear. This was the statue from before, with the sand face. Rick who was standing next to her gave her a sympathetic look. To cheer her up while tying the rope he kept hitting the warden in the face with it, this did cheer her up a bit as the warden yelped.

 

“How am I getting down _there_? I have Indy…there is no way in hell I’m going down there without my dog.” Nerissa said as she looked down the dark hole they were to climb down.

 

“Tie him to you, you know make a sling.” Rick said as Nerissa walked up and made a sling around Rick.

 

“He’s fat. The rope would snap and I’d fall and die. You got manly muscle you take him. Now shut up and go down first Rick.” She couldn’t help but laugh, Rick never could tell a woman he cared for no.


	7. If I Die Young, Sink Me in the River

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Is anyone even reading this story?

As Nerissa dropped down the remaining foot to the dirt floor she groaned. It smelt horrible and she couldn’t see much with the torch Rick had.

 

“Where the hell are we? And what is that smell? It smells like a dead animal or something.” She felt Jon tap her arm and silently point to the fat warden who was greedily looking around for anything of value.

 

“That explains the smell but where are we?” Nerissa instantly regretted it when Evy’s eyes grew wide in excitement.

 

“This is where they prepared bodies for the _afterlife_!” She said with a grin. Nerissa made a face and a disgusted groan.

 

“Forget I even asked, you already said too much. Let’s go I wanna find something better, something more exciting than dead people.” Nerissa said as she followed Rick down the dark halls. She kept one hand on her gun holster as she looked around nervously. It was hard to not jump at the skittering noise that seemed to surround them, it had to be bugs. She absolutely hated bugs!

 

They quietly and cautiously walked into a room with giant legs sticking out of the ceiling. Obviously it was the statue of Anubis that Evy had been rambling about, but something seemed off. Loud and spine chilling moans could be heard from the other side of the room. Nerissa felt herself grab her pistols out of their sling. Rick quickly eyed her gave her a small nod, one that said _defend the others._ Quietly they snuck closer to the statue raising their guns. Nerissa felt herself jump as she found herself looking down the barrel of a gun. The Americans and their group were all facing them. Nerissa couldn’t help but wonder why she always found herself staring down a barrel of a gun, one almost always seemed to be pointed at her more so lately than she was comfortable with.

 

“You scared the bejesus out of us, O’Connell.” Henderson said as he stared wide eyed at Rick.

 

“Likewise” was all Rick said with a lazy smirk. Nerissa found herself smirking, which was followed by a blush as Henderson winked at her. _His damn winks would be the death of her,_ flashed through her mind quickly as she faltered for just a moment.

 

“You two are outnumbered here. There are only three of you and more of me.” Beni said with a crooked smile.

 

“Four you dumbass, see? Rick, Jon, Evy and myself. Learn to count Gabor.” There was a bark from Indy which made Nerissa grin.

 

“Make that five, Indy counts too. Sorry buddy.” Nerissa mentally patted herself on the back for making Beni blush in embarrassment.

 

Before Nerissa could even register what happened next she found herself in another room. Evy had dragged them out of the room into a lower one. She seemed to think that they were right under the Statue of Anubis’ legs. Her plan was for them to dig out from under the Americans and steal, no discover the Book of Amun-Ra before their rivals. Which is where they found themselves now, digging into the ceiling with a pick axe.

 

“I just can’t wait to see the faces of those beastly Americans when we find the book before them!” Evy paused as she looked at Rick and Nerissa before she bit her lip to say something else.

 

“Uhm…no offense.” She said it almost sounded like a question to Nerissa. Rick told her it wasn’t a problem and when Evy looked at her she realized her friend wanted a response from her as well.

 

“It’s, fine Evy, I’m pretty much half American. So I am only half insulted. Really it's not a big deal.” Nerissa said with a chuckle. Turning she saw Jon swinging a pick axe like a golf club, she rolled her eyes. She had never understood golf, it was boring to her. Baseball on the other hand, she and Rick shared a love of it. As she stood to stretch she heard what Evy was talking about, she couldn’t help but gag at the details of mummification.

 

“You see they get a red hot poker, stick it up your nostril, scramble it around and rip it all out through your nose.” While she was about to vomit herself she had to laugh at Rick’s terrified expression.

 

“If I die don't sign me up for mummification!” He said while staring at Nerissa sternly.

 

“I agree, if we had to follow the old customs give me two drachmas and place them on my eyes for the ferryman. Though I’d prefer that you; bury me in satin, lay me down on a bed of roses, sink me in the river at dawn, and send me away with the words of a love song.” Jon looked over briefly before giving his response.

 

“Likewise.” He said with one final swing of his makeshift club. It had latched onto the ceiling and ripped a giant hole which led to a large object falling from the ceiling. Nerissa jumped back with a loud scream as it landed where she had been sitting a few minutes ago.

 

“What the hell is that? Oh my God to think that could’ve been _me_!” she said pointing to the now crushed pillar she had been sitting on. Evy started brushing sand off and gasped at what she saw.

 

“This is a sarcophagus!” She said as she continued to dust, only to find a star shaped indent. As if it was an ancient lock.

 

“Looks like a lock. You’d need a key to open that.” Rick said as he tapped the indent. Before Nerissa could express her thankfulness about not having a key Evy jumped up with an excited yell.

 

“KEY! That’s what the man with a hook was talking about!” She pulled out the puzzle box, which Jon whined was his.

 

“Technically Jon that was mine first. Then it was Rick’s, which you then stole from him. So…yeah your words mean nothing.” Nerissa said with a groan as she saw that it fit perfectly.  

 

Just as Evy was about to turn the key they heard a loud scream coming from the hall. They all rushed to the doorway and gasped. There was the warden running like a bat out of hell, clawing at his head. Nerissa looked to see where he was running and flinched, seeing that he wasn’t going to slow down before he hit the stone wall. When he ran into the wall there was a sickening crunch as his skull cracked. Evy let out a small whimper as Rick and Nerissa walked towards the now dead warden.

 

“What do you think made him do this?” Nerissa asked with a wave of her hand. All Rick could do was shrug, what else could he do? Not even a minute after the warden’s death, or perhaps suicide, Jon was snatching up his bag. Indy sat in the preparation room whimpering refusing to move. It was a sad sight to see the animal so frightened.

 

“Come here Indy. It’s alright buddy.” Nerissa coaxed the dog to come towards her which he slowly did.

 

After the warden’s death the remaining four went topside and sat around a fire quietly. Sure none of them liked the warden but it was a terrible way to die.

 

The four found themselves sitting around the fire as Jon looked through the warden’s bag.

 

“I wonder what killed our friend.” Nerissa asked as she eyed the bag hesitantly as if it would jump out at her.

 

“Did you ever see him eat?” Jon said with a laugh as he continued to dig through the bag. She had to admit Jon was right, he devoured whatever you put in front of him, and most of it ended up on whoever was sitting next to him. Nerissa had learned that nasty little detail the hard way.

 

“Heard the Americans had an adventure of their own, couple of the diggers, were burned alive. Pressurized salt acid.” Rick said as he sat down. Nerissa and Evy’s eyes went wide at the thought.

 

“Dear lord that sounds painful. I guess Seti was no fool huh?” When Evy was about to say something Jon screamed making the others jump, Nerissa let out an ear piercing scream.

 

“What?!” Screamed Evy as Jon looked at his fingers. Nerissa was about ready to bolt before Jon looked at her.

 

“There is broken glass in here.” Nerissa froze and looked at Jon before letting out a growl of frustration and smacking him upside the head.

 

“Do not do that to me! Dear god I thought the worst! I was thinking there was a snake or something!” she said getting ready to stomp away.

 

“Glenlievet? Twelve years old! He may have been a smelly man but he had good taste!”  Nerissa snatched the bottle out of Jon’s hands and took a swig. The warm liquid was like liquid relaxation.

 

Before she could take another sip there was the shrill cry of a horse. Looking up she saw a whole cavalry of desert people riding into the camp. Her eyes went wide as she sprung up and bolted towards her weapons. Instantly she went into survival mode and began firing at the men attacking the camp. It felt like a repeat of the last time she was here. As she was loading her gun she noticed Henderson was about to be attacked from behind, she bolted towards him and fired a shot at the attacker hitting his shoulder. Henderson spun around to see the attacker stumbling back. He gave her one quick nod of thanks before returning the favor when a man tried to attack Nerissa from behind.

 

“Thanks, now duck!” she screamed as Henderson ducked. She found herself engaged in battle of blades when she was forced to throw her empty gun to the sand and pull out her knife. It was as if she was a different person as she spun and sliced. She had no idea how she knew the maneuvers she was using. Something seemed oddly familiar how she and Henderson were switching between fighting their opponents and defending each other.

 

Nerissa was lost in the moment of adrenaline which was brought to an abrupt halt when a loud commanding yell echoed throughout the ruins.

 

“ _ENOUGH_!” Her opponent froze and stepped back looking at the man that ordered the fighting to cease.  She looked briefly at Henderson who looked towards Rick who was talking to the man. When the desert men retreated she found herself confused. Why did they attack only to suddenly change their minds?

 

“Now you know there is something buried in the sand! The way they attacked us like that?” Henderson said with an eager grin.

 

“These men are desert people, they value water. Not gold.” Rick said as he turned to help Evy up.

 

“Hey O’Connell what do you say we make a truce for the night?” Burns’ shaky voice asked as his dark eyes looked around as if another desert warrior would jump out.

 

“Fine by me! The more the merrier…” Nerissa said looking at Rick questioningly. He was still paying more attention to Evy; she couldn’t help but grin at the sight.

 

A few hours later it was dark. Nerissa found herself sitting in front of her own small fire. It was quiet and a little lonely with the others in their tents or near the main fire. Nerissa was at ease though. She enjoyed the silence for once. Silence in Hamunaptra was a good thing; it meant the evil was still at bay.

 

“This seat taken?” Came a quiet southern drawl, it was Henderson. Nerissa waved a hand signaling the man to take a seat. He slowly sat down with a tired thud before looking at her.

 

“You alright? Your hand is bleeding.” He asked, she looked down and noticed the cut on her hand had reopened.

 

“Oh that was from the boat. It must’ve reopened during all the drama.” He quietly picked up her hand with a small smile as he began to look at the cut, it wasn’t too deep but deep enough where it still bled a lot. He took a flask out of his breast pocket and opened it.

 

“Bourbon, not only does it taste good but it cleans the hell out of a cut.” She couldn’t help but melt under his smirk. But that was short lived when she let out a screech as he poured some of the liquid onto her hand.

 

“That shit burns! And not in a good way! _Owww_!” She howled in pain and frustration. He gave a quiet chuckle as he told her he knew it hurt.

 

“That means it’s cleaning it out. Trust me an infection in your hand hurts worse. Makes shooting a little hard.”

 

“But I’m _left_ handed!” She whined, before he started cleaning it she didn’t even know it had reopened!

 

“Stop your whining I’m almost done, just need to bandage it.” He said as he pulled out a clean bandana from his pocket, how it remained so after staying in the desert was a mystery to her but she didn’t question or complain. While the pain was torture the warm and calloused hands expertly wrapped up her hand. She stared at his hands with curiosity. She hissed in pain when he pulled it tight, knotting the makeshift bandage.

 

“Sorry, more used to tying rope than bandages.” He said with a sheepish grin. She looked him in the eyes and felt herself melting again. It all seemed familiar somehow. As if she had been here in this exact moment before but she couldn’t put her finger on it. Before she could say anything about it she felt his warm lips touch hers.

 

When he pulled back she grinned warmly, who was she to question why it was familiar? As long as he kissed her she didn’t care.

 

“So why are you used to tying rope more?” She asked as she leaned back onto her elbows avoiding putting her hand on the ground.

 

“Grew up on a Texas ranch, we, my family I mean caught our own horses. It was a lot of work. But it was worth it once we broke the horses and used them for herding cattle. I had four sisters, and two brothers. I was the baby in the family. And when it came to my mother I never complained, I got more sweets from her.” He said with a laugh. His laugh was contagious.

 

“Oh so you’re a Momma’s Boy? How cute!” He playfully shoved her with a grin.

 

“You say that like it’s a bad thing! I never could get in trouble around her. Learned how to get myself out of trouble with just a look around her; I was very _charming_!” The two were laughing even harder now. “What about you? What’s your story?” He asked looking at her with raised eyebrows.

 

“Not much to it. My mother was half British and half American. My father was American. I was born in Memphis on July 4th, 1899. I was an only child which was alright because it made traveling easier. I was closer to my daddy because he was the fun parent. He had wanted a son but he had me and was alright with that. I was a little troublemaker. Even more so when I met Jon, we were the Terrible Two growing up. Looking back I realize that might not have been a good thing. My parents died when I was 19 in an accident. They were on a dig…and they came across grave robbers…the excavation group that came in after my parents found them. The grave robbers had shot them. The only good thing out of their deaths was that they died together. I never told anyone the details of their deaths. I’ve been bottling it up for the past five years or so.” She said quietly, Henderson looked at her sympathetically as he wrapped an arm around her shaking shoulders.

 

“I know you must hate to hear it but I’m sorry. I wish I had more I could say.” Henderson said with a frown.

 

“You know I can barely remember their faces? If it weren’t for the picture I have I would have forgotten completely. But I can’t live in the past. From here on I am only living for today and the present.” She said with a weak smile.

 

“Sounds like a plan. To the future!” He said before taking a sip out of his flask then handing it to Nerissa. It was then she realized maybe moving on completely wasn’t such a bad idea. She smirked as she took a swig before leaning over and kissing his warm lips. She could taste the liquor and a hint of tobacco on his lips and grinned before he deepened the kiss. She quickly pulled away with a laugh.

 

“This here does not count as the drink you owe me just so you know _Jake_.” She said with a laugh, Henderson found himself joining in on her laughter.

 

“Sure hoped it wasn’t. Because then I wouldn’t have an excuse to take you out for drinks again.” Henderson said with another of his now famous flirtatious winks.


	8. Dog, Is Man's Best Friend You Know

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Has anyone read this story since I've reposted it?

Nerissa was getting tired of all the sand; she woke up with sand in her mouth and up her nose. It annoyed her to find sand in all of her things, and that wasn’t even as bad as the heat of the desert.

“Morning Rissy. How did you sleep?  Would you believe me if I told you Evy has a hang over? Bloody brilliant all of these years giving us lectures of being irresponsible and now _she_ is the irresponsible one!” Jon said with a huge grin, hearing Evy was hung over woke Nerissa up real quick. She jumped up with a grin and ran over to where Evy was sitting. The poor woman had her hands over her eyes as she groaned in pain.

“MORNING EVY! IT’S A BEAUTIFUL DAY! LOOK AT THE BRIGHT SKY! THE SAND MAKES IT LOOK AMAZING!” She said as loud as she could, Jon has a grin as he ran over to join in on the fun of torturing his baby sister.

“I HAVE TO AGREE RISSY! OH EVY LOOK THE AMERICAN CHAPS ARE AWAKE TOO!” Evy let out a frustrated and pained groan as she fell back into the warm sand behind the stone she sat on. Finally Nerissa and Jon could get some pay back.

“Would you two shut your traps? Here drink this. Coffee tends to help a little. I don’t have aspirin so it’s the best I can do.” Rick said handing her a steaming cup of coffee. Jon and Nerissa snickered at the protectiveness from Rick, it was a little out of character for him but it was sweet, in a sick way. Evy took it with a groan. Nerissa smirked as she walked towards the entrance of the dig site.

Today they were going to open the sarcophagus, not exactly something worthy for the top of her to do list. Henderson was slowly making his way up towards her with a smile and a dorky little wave. She began to wonder where this relationship would go after the dig. He still owed her a drink and dinner; she couldn’t help but hope it lasted longer than that. She couldn’t explain it but she felt a connection to him, it was almost a sense of déjà vu as if they had met before, if they had been through this all before.

“Morning Rissa, how did you sleep?” Henderson asked as he fell into pace with her.

“I slept alright got sand up my nose though, seems to be a habit now. But besides the sand it was pretty restful. I guess a big fight before bed is good. Made me exhausted!” she said with a laugh. Before he could respond Indy came running up barking as he wagged his tail. He had been patrolling the ruins for awhile, Indy was a very protective dog and she didn’t mind. To be honest it helped her sleep at night knowing he would keep her safe. She kneeled down to rub her beloved dog’s ears which earn a huge dog kiss. She made a face before she kissed the dog between the eyes with a laugh. Henderson bent down and rubbed Indy’s ears as well with a grin.

“He reminds me of my old dog Deacon. He was a border collie, herded the livestock. I had him since he was a pup; unfortunately he died a few years ago. He lived to be pretty old, he was sixteen. He was a good and loyal dog.” Nerissa looked up at Henderson with a smile it was the simple things like this that she liked about him.

As they went their separate ways Nerissa found herself growing bored. Evy was reading the inscriptions on the sarcophagus while the rest of them just sat there watching her. Indy let out a whimper before running off and barking like crazy. Everyone in the room froze as they watched the dog run out of the room.

“Hang on I’ll be back. Don’t open it without me! INDY! INDY, COME BACK HERE!” Nerissa ran out of the room trying to find Indy. She couldn’t see him but she could hear his loud barking. She tried her hardest to not get lost in the winding hallways. Finally she began to recognize her surroundings; it was the way to the statue of Anubis’ feet. When she found the entrance to the chamber she saw the Americans standing in front of a chest. Indy was barking at the chest, the Egyptologist was glaring at the dog. The rest of the men in the room were just staring at the dog wondering why he was barking.

“GET THIS MANGY MUTT OUT OF HERE!” He screamed; Nerissa glared at him as she called Indy once more. It was Henderson that picked him up. Indy was still barking as he tried to jump out of his arms.

“Easy boy, hey what’s gotten into you, buddy?” He asked as he walked out of the room. Nerissa bit her lip in confusion; Indy never acted this way before.

“I don’t know what has gotten into him!” she said as Henderson walked out of the chamber. He pulled a rope off of his belt and made a makeshift leash and tied it on Indy’s collar. Before he could even hand her the leash Beni came running out of the chamber screaming about a curse.

“Curse? What curse is he talking about?” She asked as she watched the Hungarian run down the hallways screaming.

“Some curse on that chest, it mentioned something about _death on swift wings_. Whatever the hell that means. Here take this, do you need me to go back with you?” Henderson asked as he handed her the leash.

“Nah I got it. But thanks, and besides he calmed down when you got him out of the room.” She said with a weak laugh. Henderson nodded as he gave her a flirtatious wink before turning to go back into the chamber. She pulled on the leash as she walked back to the others; it was sad how she was beginning to know how to navigate around the halls. That meant she had been there too long for comfort and she wanted to fix that as soon as possible.

When she finally got back to the others they looked at her with raised eyebrows. She shrugged as she moved to stand next to Jon. She quickly tied Indy to one of the solar disks in the chamber. Rick and Jon had moved towards the sarcophagus the two men pulled out the inner sarcophagus and Nerissa couldn’t help but stare.

“He who should not be named…” Evy said as she trailed her fingers on the black sarcophagus. What her friend said triggered a memory from something her father had once told her on a dig. ‘ _Egyptians valued their names. If they were buried without a name then they were condemned not only in life but the afterlife. Just like if the Roman’s were buried without the toll for the ferryman. And if the body of the Egyptians was mutilated they would also be cursed to roam._

“Evy, _stop_ , don’t open that! If he was buried without a name that isn’t a good thing! Not to mention the _double_ lock!” Nerissa said nervously she heard Indy begin to whimper again and this time she felt uneasy herself. But Evy just waved a hand at her friend and told Jon and Rick to open it.

“It’s a bunch of hokum Nerissa. There is nothing to worry about. This man has been dead for thousands of years! Besides I’ve dreamed of this since I was a little girl!” She said with a laugh. When she turned the key Nerissa flinched with each click of the lock and when it gave one final loud click she held her breath.

“You dream about dead guys?” Rick questioned with a raised eyebrow. Nerissa despite being nervous laughed at the question.

When Rick and Jon pushed open the sarcophagus the mummy inside popped out making Nerissa scream; Evy jumped back with a yelp and Jon and Rick gasped.

“Holy shit! I told you it was a bad idea!” Nerissa screeched as she held her hand to her chest trying to calm herself down.

"Oh my God, I hate it when these things do that!" Evy said as she tried to slow her heart rate.

"Is he supposed to look like  _that_?" Rick asked; it was this moment Nerissa really got a look at the mummy in front of them. He was still decomposing, his jaw was dislocated and hanging in a silent scream. It was almost as if he had been alive when they buried him.

"No, I've never seen a mummy look like this before. He's still... still..." Evy was speechless as she tried to think of how to describe the sight before her it was Rick and Jon that finished her sentence.

"…Juicy." They said looking at the mummy. Nerissa had a sudden urge to  _poke_  the mummy as if to ensure it would not jump out at them again. Looking around she found an axe pick and picked it up slowly walking towards the mummy. She held it by the pick and poked the mummy with the handle. She gagged when it made a  _squish_  sound; the handle had gotten stuck in the gooey mummy making Rick and Jon flinch. Evy on the other hand glared as she yelled at Nerissa.

" _Nerissa_! Have you no respect for the dead? How would you like to be jabbed with that?" Nerissa could only shrug as she looked at the other two who just simply blinked at her.

"What like you weren't thinking about doing it? Besides from the look of it being poked would've been a walk in the park!" Jon seemed to laugh in agreement but Rick just continued to look at the mummy that now had an axe pick sticking out of its chest. It was Evy that removed the axe pick with a huff.

"See the guy is fine! The hole closed back up…ish?" Nerissa said with a nervous laugh as Evy continued to glare at her. Suddenly Evy gasped as she looked at the lid of the sarcophagus. The others leaned over and all gasped. There were ten scratches in the wood, meaning that the man  _had_  been buried alive.

"Death is only the beginning." Evy said as she read the carving in the interior of the lid. Jon muttered something about a  _poor bastard_. Rick just stared at the claw marks in shock and Nerissa fought the urge to throw up.

She felt an odd yet strong sense of how wrong it was to be there. That they had to get as far away from this place as possible. Nerissa couldn't believe the things she had seen in this city, faces in sand that screamed, a man run into a wall and kill himself and now a gooey mummy that was buried  _alive_.

Later that night found her sitting in front of the fire lost in her thoughts. Since opening the locked sarcophagus there had been almost a constant buzzing in her ear. She normally could get rid of it by using a plunger like action with a finger but this one refused to leave. At one point she could’ve sworn she heard someone _whispering_ to her. Which was impossible because she had been alone at that point. With a groan she leaned back against a fallen pillar crossing her arms over her chest staring into the fire. She was desperate for a distraction, as if the old gods heard her a familiar soothing voice broke the eerie silence.  

"Hey O'Connell what do you think these will get us back home?" Henderson asked as he walked up to their fire shaking an ivory jar. She couldn't help but chuckle as the Americans sat down with grins looking at their  _treasure_.

"Jake you do know what that is right?" She asked when he sat next to her, when he had paused and furrowed his brows she realized none of them did.

"They are called canopic jars. That one you are holding is Qebekh, the falcon. Daniels yours is the baboon Hapy. And I'm guessing the human faced one is with the Egyptologist? That one would be Imsety, oh and if there was a jackal or wild dog that would be called Duamutef." She noticed the men didn't know the purpose of the jars and smirked.

"The human is guardian of the liver, the jackal is the stomach, the baboon is the lungs and the falcon is the guardian of the intestines. You boys are holding someone's  _organs_." She said with a laugh as Henderson and Daniels dropped the jars on the ground the sand acting as a pillow and buffering their fall so they didn’t shatter.

"Are you kidding me? That is disgusting!" Henderson said as he gagged. With a laugh she stood up and walked away from the fire pulling out a pack of her Lucky Strikes. Today was a stressful day she reasoned with herself as she lit a cigarette. The warm comfort of the cigarette calmed her jumpy nerves.

"Got another?" She turned to see Henderson walk up beside her followed by Indy who had recently become the man's shadow. She pulled out another and handed it to him as well as her pack of matches.

"So I heard about your little gooey mummy." He said with a laugh as he took a long drag before blowing rings of smoke.

"Yeah…it was pretty nasty. He wasn't done decomposing. Worst part is he was _alive_ when they buried him. They had put  _two_  locks to keep him in. Rick thinks he most likely got a little frisky with the Pharaoh's daughter. I wouldn't be surprised with some of the rulers I've read about! And don’t even get me started on the insane ancient rulers from Rome or _China_!" She said as she took another tired drag on her cigarette.

"So glad I wasn't around then." Henderson said with a smirk. She found herself cracking a smile at his words. Yet she couldn’t help but agree with his words.


	9. The Tale of the High Priest, the Priestess and the Medjai

Jacob and Nerissa found themselves enjoying each other’s company as they sat away from the others slowly smoking the Lucky Strikes. Whether they were sitting in silence or talking it was comforting, very familiar and made her feel like it was déjà vu. There have been a few times in her lifetime that she felt that sense but since meeting Jake it was a stronger feeling. The question was did he have the same feeling?

 

“You know sometimes it feels like this is all familiar. I can’t explain it you know?” Nerissa said as she looked at Henderson. The two of them had been sitting there for a few hours just talking. It had been relaxing just talking to someone.

 

“Like what?” Henderson asked as he scratched the back of his neck with a yawn. Nerissa stood and walked over to a stone with hieroglyphics on it. She began to read the hieroglyphics to herself.  It told of a High Priestess who had guarded the city thousands of years ago.

 

“Like this, see? It tells a story, yet I feel as if I have heard it before.”She said as she pointed to the ruins. Henderson stood and walked over to her studying the hieroglyphics.

 

“What does it say?” he asked as he stared at the writing as if it would magically translate.

 

“It tells a story about a High Priestess who was betrayed by a friend, the High Priest of Osiris. He had killed her lover, a Medjai. Instead of mourning she found revenge by having his lover taken from him. The two continued to have…hmm I don’t know how to literally translate this one. I guess it could translate as fights. The fighting finally ended when he tried to cheat death and bring back his love. But the High Priestess had stopped him before the ritual could be complete. The High Priest tried to get her to let him finish by saying he could bring back her Medjai love, but she refused saying if it was destined the gods would find a way for them to meet again.” She said as she read the story, it seemed Henderson seemed as intrigued as she was about the story.

 

“Then what happened?” He asked as she kneeled down to read the rest, but before she could there was a loud scream. Nerissa jumped up like a desert snake uncoiling. Henderson was looking out into the desert with wide eyes.  She turned to see what he was looking at and gasped, there was a dark cloud of locusts swarming towards them. Nerissa found herself screaming in terror. She hated bugs and seeing a swarm of them coming terrified her, she found herself running towards the camp screaming. Henderson was close behind her flinging his arms around to keep the locusts from his face.

 

The others in the camp were also fleeing from the swarm of locusts. Everyone ran into the ruins trying to find an escape from the horde of insects. She panicked as she stumbled in the hallways almost blindly; Indy was close at her heels whimpering. Jon was next to her as she tripped he quickly grabbed her by the elbow to balance her. She silently thanked him with a look before she ran into Rick’s back when he went to an abrupt stop. She looked down to see what he was looking at and gasped, the sandy ground was _bubbling_ as a swarm of scarabs burst through. Rick handed her the torch he was holding and pulled his gun out and began to fire at them. Nerissa threw the torch down at the scarabs which scattered to avoid the flames but they kept coming. Indy jumped up into her open arms as she ran. They all ran down the corridors to avoid the scarabs, she screamed when a digger tripped and was devoured by the scarabs.

 

She saw Evy jump onto a ledge and jumped to the opposite side, she hoped that the others would be alright. Nerissa couldn’t help but gasp as Evy triggered a secret door and gasped. She could only hope that Evy didn’t find more scarabs. Leaning against the wall she realized she found a trick door herself. The secret door opened to a dark and quiet chamber. Indy jumped out of her arms and ran out of the room she quickly followed.

 

“INDY! COME BACK HERE!” she called out as she ran out of the chamber she saw Evy backed up against a wall and what looked like a _mummy_ standing in front of her.

 

“EVY! Hey get away from her!” she screamed as the mummy turned to look at her. She was speechless by the fact that a mummy was somehow alive and standing in front of her.

 

“ _Layla, you will pay for what you did to me. Cursing me in this life and the afterlife. And this time your Medjai friends cannot help you!_ ” The mummy said in ancient Egyptian she stood there in a confused shock.  Not only was she shocked that a 3000 year old mummy was _alive_ and talking to her, but the fact that he was blaming her for his death. 

 

“There you two are! Evy, Ness it’s time to go now!” Rick said as he ran up to the two, Evy was trembling and Nerissa pointed at the mummy. Rick turned around hesitantly and let out a scream.

 

“WOAH! Now it is defiantly time to go!” He said before shooting the mummy in the stomach with a shot gun, the mummy let out an angry and pained howl before falling onto its back. The three ran towards the exit, Indy was hot on their heels.  As they reached the outside they were met with sharp curved blades. The desert men were glaring at the three. Nerissa looked down and gagged as she saw Burns, who had his eyes and tongue ripped out. Daniels and Henderson were on the ground trying to calm their friend down the best they could considering what happened to him. She had missed what the desert men were saying but managed to hear Rick say he killed it.

 

“It’s not dead is it? Not really…” The desert man who seemed to be in charge, looked at her with an aggravated sigh.

 

“No, the creature will never eat; never sleep until his curse is brought through. Now I and my comrades will have to find a way to kill him before he does so.” He was still glaring at Rick who kept insisting he got the mummy.

 

“Rick, I doubt that a shot gun killed a guy with no organs…he was already dead…it’s like shooting a corpse, which in a way he is. Just let these guys deal with it! I want to get as far from this damn place as I can. I told you it was a bad idea to come to this fucking place! Maybe next time you all will listen to me!” Nerissa said as she wrapped her arms around herself. Evy looked at her with sympathy as she wrapped her arms around her.

 

“I agree with her!” Said Henderson as he stood up angrily.  Nerissa felt she couldn’t get away from here fast enough, but getting back to the fort was at least one step in getting away.


	10. Never Be the Same Again

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter is a flashback/dream sorry if it's choppy.

 

_Layla’s bright eyes stared in wonder at the statues of the great Goddess Isis. She couldn’t imagine how this would now be her life. Her father had passed and been buried only a week ago. The Pharaoh once hearing that his old friend had passed sent for his sole child, his daughter. When he heard that she had the gift of sight he made sure she found a place in the Temple of Isis._

_“ **This here is where we make our offerings to the Goddess.** ” Layla looked up at the older Priestess Meri. Layla looked at the limestone stairs that led to a large statue of the Goddess who was sitting on a throne. _

_“ **Down this hall will be your chambers. You are to never have a male in here unless he is your guard not even the Pharaoh himself is allowed in here. Now Layla you are to take a vow of purity with this job. As the seer you could lose your gift if you lay with a man. We cannot have that now, can we?** ” Meri asked as she eyed the young girl. Layla shook her head as she peaked into the chamber and saw what would now be her home. In all of her thirteen years she never imagined she would become a Priestess to Isis, yet alone the seer!_

_“ **Now your guard was assigned before your arrival. Ahmose was handpicked by the Pharaoh himself for your protection. You may also see that his son Amun is shadowing him; Amun is being trained to take over for his father. So for now you will have two guards.** ” Layla nodded weakly as two men came into the main chamber, it was quite obvious that they were father and son. The men showed signs of being of Greek decent with pale skin, blue eyes and blonde curls. She knew it was wrong but she felt her heart flutter at the sight of the younger man, he had a warm smile. _

_“ **This is Ahmose and his son, Amun. Captain this is Layla**.” Meri said with a motherly smile. Layla fought a blush when Amun gave her a wink when his father and Meri weren’t looking. _

 

**-EIGHT YEARS LATER-**

_Layla smiled at the sight of her guard walking into her chambers. The two had been secretly lovers for a few months now and the two were never happier._

_“ **Amun, I was beginning to think you would never come inside. Today has been a long day…so many people were asking what the Goddess had to say, more so than usual.”** She said with a sigh as her lover began to massage her sore shoulders and neck._

**_“Be grateful you hide your face behind the golden mask, if they saw your beauty then they would come in large masses every day.”_ ** _She laughed as she looked up at her lover. He always knew how to make her smile. She pulled him towards her by the golden necklace he wore and kissed him softly._

_“ **The other Medjai are saying that the Pharaoh is planning to take a new wife. And that she is Nefertiri’s weapons instructor.”** Layla’s eyes grew wide as she looked up at her lover._

_“ **Anck-Su-Namun? Surely you are joking, please tell me you are joking Amun…her?”** Her lover frowned and shook his head whispering it was true. _

_“ **Perhaps the wedding is the distraction we need, you can tell the Pharaoh you need to visit the Great Temple of Isis…and then in secret, have—”** She glared at her lover for a moment in frustration._

_“ **AMUN! You must never say that aloud! If someone heard you, you could be executed. You know our love is forbidden. If word gets out of this…”** she said as she took her lover’s hand and placed it on her stomach lovingly. “ **Who knows what would happen!”** She said with a tired sigh, looking up into her lover’s blue eyes._

_A week had gone by and the Pharaoh had announced that Anck-Su-Namun was to be his new bride; Layla couldn’t believe it was true. The Princess had come to her with even more shocking news however._

_“ **High Priestess…I have suspicions about my father’s bride to be. I fear she has been with another.”** Layla tilted her head looking at the princess’ suspicion. _

_“ **What has made you think this Princess?”** She was rather curious, she may be the seer and the High Priestess but she was still human._

**_“I saw her and another give looks that seemed…”_ ** _Layla could see that the princess was scared to say the wrong thing; even a princess could face the wrath of the Pharaoh._

_“ **I will speak with the Pharaoh. If this is true, it must be proven. Surely the Great Goddess Isis would not approve. Once the evidence is revealed then actions can be made. Until then, all I can tell you Princess is that only the Gods can decide their fates.”** Her words seemed to ease the Princess who nodded and bowed to the High Priestess before she left. It was times like this that Layla needed her own guidance and advice, but perhaps to prevent this from becoming a problem she could tell the Pharaoh that the Gods deemed it fit that Anck-Su-Namun were to be painted, as a precaution. _

**-A WEEK LATER-**

" _ **Amun, what are you doing here? You know you aren't supposed to be in here. If someone found out you were in here…**_ _" Amun looked down at the woman he was supposed to protect with his life and smiled._

" _ **Since when do you follow that rule? If you want to follow that rule then I suppose I should beg the Goddess Isis for forgiveness since I have tainted her High Priestess.**_ _" He said as he gave the woman a kiss making her smile._

" _ **Yes, I suppose you should, especially since I am carrying your child. But I have seen our child…such a beautiful child she will be. I see us living in the country side away from the Palace, I see us free from this life.**_ _" The woman said with a grin as she held his hand to her still flat stomach which held their unborn child. She was going to ask the Pharaoh if she could resign from her role as High Priestess it wasn't common or even heard of for the High Priestess to resign but it seemed as if the gods had plans for them._

" _ **I will be just outside my love.**_ _" He said with a smile as he snuck out of the room with a wink._

" _ **Hypocrisy seems to suit you Layla. What makes you think that your love is acceptable and my own is not?**_ _" The woman spun around in surprise when she heard Anck-Su-Namun. "_ ** _What would the Pharaoh think knowing that his High Priestess had lain with her guard?_** _" She spat, she was angry since it was her that persuaded the Pharaoh to paint her in the first place._

" _ **I had him paint you to protect you! You are to be the Pharaoh's wife! By giving yourself to another you would not only shame yourself but he would cast you out! Do you want to be shamed and cast out forced to live life as a beggar? And imagine what would happen to your lover! Whoever he is the Pharaoh would have him executed without a second thought!**_ _" Layla spat as she tried to walk away, she grabbed her arm with a glare._

" _ **If I can't have my love then perhaps you shouldn't have your precious Medjai!**_ _" She said with a snarl, Layla pulled her arm away and ran out of the room. She gasped when she saw Amun surrounded by the other Medjai before he was dragged away._

" _ **NO! AMUN! STOP WHERE ARE YOU TAKING HIM?!**_ _" She cried out as they dragged him out of the chambers._

" _ **To the dungeons, to await his execution he touched the High Priestess. That is a crime punishable by death.**_ _" Anck-Su-Namun said with a sadistic grin as she watched the woman fall to her knees sobbing._

**-=-**

Nerissa woke with a gasp, the dream she had seemed so real! And the man in her dream, Amun had looked just like Jacob Henderson, the only rational explanation she had for the dream was the heat and her not so secret attraction to the man.

“Nerissa? What were you dreaming about? You were calling out in Ancient Egyptian. Are you alright?” Nerissa turned to see Evy with a concerned look on her face.

“Nothing…I was just…I need air.” She said as she pulled on her boots and walked out onto the deck of the ferry taking them back to Cairo. With a tired and frustrated sigh she roamed the decks until she reached the rear of the boat. She saw a lone figure leaning against the rails, she made sure to make more noise as she jumped down the last step leading towards the man.

“Hey there, you as anxious to get home as I am?” The figure said as he turned, revealing that it was Henderson.

“Y-yeah…” She stuttered as he looked at her reminding her of the dream she just had near minutes ago. His usual flirtatious wink wasn’t helping her in the slightest.

“So about that story…whatever happened to those people? The ones from the story…” He asked making her eyes widen and her blush deepen.

“I-uhh…well Layla and Amun the two lovers, I think they were going to have a child. But the High Priest found out. I think the High Priest was the _creature_ that the man was talking about.” She said looking into his eyes.

“What happened to the kid? That thing didn’t hurt an innocent kid did he?” Jake asked with a look of worry. Nerissa bit her lip and shrugged, she really had no idea if the child ever even got the chance to be born. Part of her hoped that it did, so at least _Layla_ had one good thing happen. She couldn’t imagine losing someone you loved so deeply. Sure she lost her parents but that was a different kind of love. Even the thought of her parent’s possibly dying without each other terrified her. She always told herself it was a small blessing that her parents at least died with each other. The way it should be.

Trying to gather her thoughts Nerissa couldn’t help but wonder what it could mean that the man from her dream looked just like Henderson. She could hear her father in her head saying; _always look into things for yourself_. She made a silent vow to herself to find out more about the tale of the two lovers and why she was having dreams about them.


	11. Almost Paradise

Nerissa had never felt so happy to have a drink in her hand as she did at this moment. The ferry ride seemed to be never ending, at least this time it wasn’t portentously life threating. She couldn’t help but yawn as she placed her drink on the bar the past few days had been rather stressful. Between the crazy past few days and the weird dreams she needed a few rounds of drinks.

Henderson had told her that Burns was finally starting to calm down bit but was still getting used to having no tongue or eyes, not that she blamed the man. She just wished that the ship taking them back to America would hurry the hell up. She was done with Egypt and that damn city of the dead.

“Hey, how about that drink I owe you?” Nerissa looked up at Henderson and gave him a tired smile. She waved her hand to the seat beside her; he called the bartender over and looked at her drink.

“Two more Bourbons please.” He said with a tired smile of his own. She looked over at him as she rested her head on her hand that was propped up on the bar.

“Don’t forget you owe me dinner to. So how’s Daniels doing? Considering he is on some dead…umm…some not so dead anymore mummy’s hit list. And his friend is now without a tongue and his eyes.” She asked Henderson, he turned to look at her as he took a sip of his drink, waving the bartender to bring the bottle after a moment.

“Honestly? Not so good, but can you blame him?” He said as he poured himself another drink from the bottle the bartender left for the two. “To a quick trip back to the states yeah?” He said with a lopsided grin, that didn’t quite reach his eyes. As he took a sip his eye grew wide and he spit it out, Nerissa jumped a bit and looked around confused as everyone else began to spit out their drinks.

“What the hell?” She asked raising her glass before Henderson knocked her drink out of her hand.

“Believe me you don’t want to drink that. Sweet Jesus! It tasted just like—” Before he finished his sentence Rick finished it for him dropping his glass to the floor where it shattered.

“Blood.” Nerissa looked over at her friend with furrowed eyebrows whispering the word _what_.

“And the rivers and water of Egypt ran red…and were as blood.” Jonathan said as he watched Rick who was staring at the water fountain which had turned to blood as well. Nerissa gagged at the sight and scrunched her nose in disgust.

“What the hell is going on?!” She cried out as she stood, she never did like the sight of blood this was not helping. She walked towards Rick and reached out for him hesitantly.

“He’s here.” Was all he said which made her look at Henderson who was just looking at Daniels gauging his reaction, the other man was staring blankly at the fountain, watching the blood bubble out of it. Before she could grab Rick he ran out of the bar leaving her confused, she turned and looked at Henderson again and then Jonathan.

“Should we go after him? I feel like we should seriously go after him before he does something stupid.” The three of them and Daniels ran out after Rick, Nerissa let out a surprised shriek as Beni came running past her shoving her into a wall to get away, she normally would have chased after him but she heard an animalistic growl up the stair to her left followed by gun shots. She ran up the stairs and let out a scream as she saw the mummy from earlier walking towards Rick before throwing him into her, Henderson, Jonathan and Daniels who came up behind her. She let out a pained groan as Rick’s elbow met the side of her head. She heard a groan under her as she landed onto someone, turning she saw it was Henderson so she gave him a sympathetic look before shoving Rick off of her.

“EVY!” She screamed as the mummy approached the other woman speaking in ancient Egyptian. The mummy looked at her and saw behind her was Henderson and narrowed its eyes.

“ _Amun…_ ” It snarled glaring at the man who was still holding onto Nerissa, the mummy only turned back to Evy when she let out a whimper of fear as she bumped into the bookcase behind her.

“ _You saved me from the undead. I thank you._ ” The mummy then leaned forward as if to kiss Evy which made her gag and also silently thank whatever god was listening, that it wasn’t her about to be kissed by a reanimated corpse. She turned quickly when she heard Evy’s cat Cleo meow and step on the piano playing discordant notes. The mummy jerked its head towards the noise and let out a near ear piercing screech as it turned into a mini sand storm with a face and flew out the window.

“We are in very serious trouble.” Rick said as he sat up and looked at Evy, who was in shock from her encounter.

“Is this a bad time to say that his escape was the bee’s knees?” She looked around at everyone and was about to shrug when she saw what looked like another mummy but this one looked slightly familiar and was in modern clothes. She gasped when she saw that it was in fact Burns. “Is t-that really? Shit, Daniels I’m sorry…” She whispered as she looked at the man who was close to tears for the loss of his friend. Henderson just looked to be in shock.

Nerissa held onto Jonathan’s hand as he dragged her behind him following Rick and Evy, Henderson and Daniels were right behind her. And close at her heels was Indy who she let out of the room before they headed towards the museum. There was a fat chance in hell she’d leave her dog behind with a pissed off mummy running around.

“He does seem to like Evy.” Jonathan said somewhat off handily as he looked at Nerissa she simply shrugged at her oldest friend. She couldn’t help but wonder what it meant that the mummy had called her Layla before and then called Henderson, Amun. Surely there had to be a reason for him calling the two of them by those names.

“Yeah what is that about?” Rick asked making Nerissa snap out of her inner thoughts. Daniels who was walking behind her spoke up next, making her look around at everyone trying to make it seem like she hadn’t zoned out. 

“What’s this guy want?” He asked, making his thick southern accent more apparent since he was still nervous from the encounter with the mummy.  Not that Nerissa would blame anyone as crazy as it was that there was a reanimated mummy running around it was still terrifying.

“There is only one person I know who can give us answers.” Evy said as she walked into the room of her to find her boss Dr. Bey. She suddenly gasped at the sight of the man from the desert. “YOU!” She called out making everyone with guns pull them out, Nerissa however just started at the man in confusion. For once she wanted answers first then decide if she wanted to shoot him after.

“Look, don’t shoot them. I want some damn answers, and I want them now.  Now where the hell can a girl sit around here? After what I’ve just seen I need both a drink, preferably one that isn’t blood and a damn seat.” She said shoving in front of everyone and placing her hands on her hips looking at the man from the desert. “First question, who the hell are you exactly?” The man looked down at her with a raised eyebrow.

“My name is Ardeth Bay.” He said in what she could only guess was a voice with an Arabic accent.

“Any rela—you know what I don’t care I’m gonna take a seat there and have a breather.” She sat down on what looked like a golden throne and sat sideways propping her legs over the arm of the throne. The curator was about to tell her to not sit that way but she gave him a sharp look and crossed her arms, he simply sighed. The two men then began to tell them about how they were part of a secret society that had sworn to keep the mummy from awakening making Nerissa snicker.

“Didn’t do a very good job did you?” She muttered under her breath making the men glare at her, she simply waved her had as if to tell them to continue.

“Question, why is he afraid of cats?” Rick asked as he held his hand up, Nerissa looked over at him and smirked.

“Uhh...because he is a wimp?” She said with a laugh, making Jonathan snicker a little himself. Dr. Bey looked at the two and rolled his eyes before speaking up in explanation.

“Cats are guardians of the underworld. He will fear them until he is fully regenerated and then he will fear nothing.” Nerissa blew out a large breath of air as she stretched and arched her back on the arm rest she was resting on until she cracked her sore back.

“And do you know how he gets himself fully regenerated? By sucking everyone who opened that damn chest dry!” Daniels cried out he was standing next to Henderson. Nerissa couldn’t help but think how Burns had looked like beef jerky afterwards, she knew it was horrible to say but it was true. Evy then mentioned how the mummy had called her Anck-Su-Namun and tried to kiss her making Nerissa wonder if she should mention what he called her and Henderson.

“Okay so we know who she is. But who is Layla and Amun? He seemed pretty convinced I was Layla and he called Henderson Amun, and plus I’m pretty sure he wants me dead.” She said as she slid forward and sat normal in the throne resting her elbows on her knees. Ardeth turned towards her with wide eyes and looked at Dr. Bey with a slightly opened mouth.

“Layla was the High Priestess of Isis, and Amun was her personal Medjai guard and lover. When Imhotep killed her lover Amun, she swore to prevent him from raising Anck-Su-Namun. Imhotep tried to convince her to let him bring her back, by offering to bring her lover back. But she refused and ordered that he be condemned to the Hom Dai. She herself saw to it that he be cursed, as revenge for killing her lover and being the cause for the death of the Pharaoh and inadvertently being the cause of Princess Nefertiri’s death.” Nerissa sat a moment in shock before muttering to herself, _oh shit._ Henderson just looked at her in shock for a moment slowly trying to register what was going on; he however did remember her saying those names back in Hamunaptra when she read the ancient story. Before he could say anything the room grew dark and everyone stood up and looked up at the sky, the moon was creating an eclipse.

“And he stretched forth his hand towards the heavens…and there was darkness throughout the land of Egypt.” Jonathan said once again, Nerissa couldn’t help but hate his knowledge of the plagues, it made things much more eerily to hear them said aloud as they occurred one by one, signaling Imhotep’s regaining of his powers.

“We are soo fucked now aren’t we?” Nerissa said with a groan as she plumped down onto the step behind her. Indy let out a whimper, the first sound he made since she let him out of the room before coming to the museum.

 


	12. Superstition

****

Pacing, that was all Nerissa could do at the moment. She was after all just told that not only was she a reincarnated High Priestess but that her past life was the one who cursed the very mummy that wanted her dead. But then, throw in the fact that the man that she was highly attracted to and was possibly starting what could be a relationship was actually the reincarnation, of her past life's  _lover_. She never missed the worry free years of her childhood in Egypt as much as she did now, she longed for the years she spent climbing and playing in the sand with her oldest friend Jonathan.

"Nerissa, stop pacing you are making me sick." She quickly spun around and looked at the owner of the voice that made her jump. It was Rick who was standing by the window looking up at the sky.

"Sorry, I pace when I need to think. And after what I just heard, after what I just went through? You'd be pacing too if you were me!" She snapped she always snapped when frustrated it was the Irish in her as Jonathan used to always tell her. Speaking of her friend he was sitting in a chair next to her, he grabbed her hand and pulled her into his lap.

"Don't worry Rissy; no old undead mummy will get  _my_  best friend! What would I do without my best friend? No offense but no one else here could ever compare! And besides, I don't think Mr. Henderson over there would cope very well, he seems to be carrying a torch for you." He whispered the last part making her blush; of course Henderson looked over and seemed somewhat jealous.

"Bullshit!" She said as she turned to look at her friend who just laughed harder. She stood up and smacked him on the back of the head sticking her tongue out before moving to stand next to Henderson who seemed rather pleased with that and gave her one of his flirtatious winks, at least he could still have his charm in a situation like this.

"We must stop him from regenerating. Who opened that chest?" Evy spoke up as she herself slowly paced the room, playing with her locket again her nervous habit since a child.

"Well there was Daniels here, oh and Burns of course." Henderson spoke up. Daniels rested his elbow on the table and placed a hand on his face taking a deep sigh.

"And that Egyptologist fellow." Daniels said after a moment. Nerissa looked over at Henderson with a worried look on her face.

"What about you? Weren't you in the room Jake?" She asked him silently hoping that he wasn't, she was growing rather fond of the man. He looked down at her with a weak smile.

"Nah, I guess I was lucky. Indy saved my ass from being in the room." He looked over at the Indy who was lying in front of the quarter's door as if standing guard. The dog sat up and barked at the man wagging his tail as his tongue flopped out, as if to tell him  _damn straight_. "I guess what they say about dogs being man's best friend is true in my case." Nerissa looked over at her dog and smiled, she was never so happy to have Indy with her on a trip.

"What about our buddy Beni?" Rick asked turning away from the window to look at everyone.

"No, he scrammed outta there 'fore we opened the damn thing." Daniels said still leaning on arm on the table he sat at. Henderson looked at his friend while eating one of the peanuts from the bar downstairs.

"Yeah, he was the smart one." He said has he begun to follow the other's lead and pace the room.

"Well, that sounds like Beni." Rick said with a sigh. Nerissa leaned against the wall behind her and rubbed her hands over her face.

"Well we must find the Egyptologist and bring him back to the safety of the fort, before the creature gets to him." Evy said, resulting in Nerissa speaking up from her spot against the wall.

"Can't we just let him get turned into jerky? I mean  _seriously_  who would miss the guy? And what's  _one_  more? We would just have to make sure that Daniels here is safe." She said which made Evy glare at her.

"That is uncalled for Nerissa! What did that poor man do to you? No one deserves that kind of death!" She said as if she were scolding a child, Nerissa raised her eyebrow as she crossed her arms.

"What did he do to me? He gave me shit for being a  _woman_. Last I checked I could protect my own damn ass, and did you see me being all dainty with a fucking parasol in the desert? He thinks that he is better than us Evy because he  _supposedly_  has a certain appendage below the belt! I may be a woman but I bet I have more balls than him!" Nerissa spat as she pushed off the wall and stood in front of Evy, the only person in the room shorter than her and looked down at the woman with a harsh glare. She didn't care if it wasn't lady like if she swore, she didn't care if her parents were rolling in their graves at her language she would be  _damned_  before bend over backwards for a sexist pig that thought she should be at home providing meals and children for a man. The men in the room all snickered at her mini rant; it was moments like this that her Irish temper came through.

"I stand by what I said earlier, _marry me_." Henderson said with a laugh making her blush.

"Alright Rissa, we know where you stand. But we don't want any more plagues so we have to save him, however if he were to be… _manhandled_  or  _accidentally_  knocked out in his panic then I'd understand." Rick said with a smirk making Evy make a noise of protest. "So you, stay here, you two come with me and you two make sure she stays here. No one comes in, no one comes out." He said pointing at Evy, then pointing at Nerissa and Jonathan and finally pointing to Henderson and Daniels. Everyone began protesting at once which made Rick call out for silence. When Evy put up a fight he threw her over his shoulder and carried her into the room, and tossed her on the bed before locking the door.

"Like I said, she stays. You two make sure no one comes in and no one leaves,  _right_?" He said pointing at Henderson.

"Right." Henderson said looking at Rick with a quick nod. Rick then looked over at Daniels and pointed at him.

"Right?" Daniels replied to Rick's question with a nod of his own. Nerissa looked towards Rick with a glare at first.

"Why do I have to go with you and Jonathan?" She asked crossing her arms; Rick looked over at her with a raised eyebrow.

"Don't you want you free shot at the Egyptologist?" He asked she immediately relaxed and perked up, her face immediately, switched to one of mischief and excitement.

"O'Connell, I know she can protect herself…but can you keep an extra eye on her?" Henderson asked as he looked over at Nerissa hesitantly. When she looked at him she had a look that was a mix of confusion and amusement.

"Aww…you care about me. How sweet, if you want him to keep an eye on  _me_  then Indy will stay here and keep an eye on  _you_." She said with a laugh Henderson just gave her a wink and a charming smile.

"Anything that makes you happy darlin'." He said with a laugh making her blush again, she never blushed this much before but with his constant winks, smiles and that southern drawl it was nearly impossible to  _not_  blush.

"Come on you little love bird." Rick said dragging Nerissa out of the quarters with a laugh; Jonathan was not far behind them. "Let's go Jonathan." He said turning to the other man, who was hesitant to go with him and Nerissa.

"Oh, well, I thought I could stay at the fort and, uh, reconnoiter…" Rick turned towards Jonathan and grabbed his arm.

"NOW!" He said in a stern voice making Jonathan jump a little, and Nerissa chuckle. She looked at the man with a smirk patting him on the back almost sympathetically.

"Yeah…right, we're just gonna rescue the…Egyptologist." Jonathan said

Henderson was growing impatient; the others still had not found the Egyptologist. Daniels was still sitting in his chair and gave a tired and frustrated sigh, before jumping out of his chair and looking over at Henderson.

"I can't take waiting here anymore I'm gonna go get a drink. You want anything?" Daniels said with a frustrated sigh, Henderson immediately perked up.

"Get me a glass of bourbon." He said, pausing he realized just a glass wasn't enough for what his day had been like so far.

"Alright." Daniels said as he walked to the door.

"A-and a shot of bourbon!" Henderson said, but it still didn't seem like enough it had been a crazy day after all.

"Yeah. Okay, okay." Daniels said giving Henderson a quick look over his shoulder as he walked out the door and down the hall. Henderson ran to stick his head out the door to call out one more request.

"And a bourbon chaser!" That seemed like enough for him, he just wanted to pretend for just a little longer that this was some crazy heat induced dream.

"Yeah, yeah, I'll get your damn bourbon!" Daniels said shaking his head as he walked out of sight. Henderson sat down with a sigh as he looked at Indy who was lying by the bedroom door as if to keep anyone out. If someone had told him his trip to Egypt would turn into a crazy experience involving an undead mummy that wanted to take over the world he would have laughed and told them to lay off the drinks, but sadly it was true. He was still trying to wrap his head around the fact that he was apparently some reincarnated bodyguard named Amon, but he couldn't help but think it was crazy. But at the same time it seemed believable, how else could he explain the urge to travel to Egypt and how it all seemed oddly familiar. It also could be the explanation as to why he was so drawn to Nerissa as well, since she was supposedly his past life's lover.

"Indy, can this day get any more insane?" He asked looking at the dog, who just barked before walking over to him. The dog rested his head on Henderson's lap with a small sigh, it was moments like this Henderson had to think for a dog Indy was very human like which was comforting since he found himself  _talking_  to the dog. He turned to look at the small falcon canopic jar and found it to seem oddly familiar the more he thought about it he could almost  _remember_  his past life. It disturbed him that he could have had a past life, but then again he thought himself to be rather open-minded. He decided that Daniels was taking far too long and thought he would at least catch some rest, Indy would bark if anyone came in the room anyway. As he closed his eyes he found himself drifting into the much-needed rest.

" ** _Amun, what are you doing here? You know you aren't supposed to be in here. If someone found out you were in here…_** _" Amun looked down at the woman he was supposed to protect with his life and smiled._

" ** _Since when do you follow that rule? If you want to follow that rule then I suppose I should beg the Goddess Isis for forgiveness since I have tainted her High Priestess._** _" He said as he gave the woman a kiss making her smile._

" ** _Yes, I suppose you should, especially since I am carrying your child. But I have seen our child…such a beautiful child she will be. I see us living in the country side away from the Palace, I see us free from this life._** _" The woman said with a grin as she held his hand to her still flat stomach which held their unborn child. She was going to ask the Pharaoh if she could resign from her role as High Priestess it wasn't common or even heard of for the High Priestess to resign but it seemed as if the gods had plans for them._

" ** _I will be just outside my love._** _" He said with a smile as he snuck out of the room with a wink._

" ** _Hypocrisy seems to suit you Layla. What makes you think that your love is acceptable and my own is not?_** _" The woman spun around in surprise when she heard Anck-Su-Namun. " **What would the Pharaoh think knowing that his High Priestess had lain with her guard?** " She spat, she was angry since it was her that persuaded the Pharaoh to paint her in the first place._

" ** _I had him paint to protect you! You are to be the Pharaoh's wife! By giving yourself to another you would not only shame yourself but he would cast you out! Do you want to be shamed and cast out forced to live life as a beggar? And imagine what would happen to your lover! Whoever he is the Pharaoh would have him executed without a second thought!_** _" Layla spat as she tried to walk away, she grabbed her arm with a glare._

" ** _If I can't have my love then perhaps you shouldn't have your precious Medjai!_** _" She said with a snarl, Layla pulled her arm away and ran out of the room. She gasped when she saw Amun surrounded by the other Medjai before he was dragged away._

" ** _NO! AMUN! STOP WHERE ARE YOU TAKING HIM?!_** _" She cried out as they dragged him out of the chambers._

" ** _To the dungeons, to await his execution he touched the High Priestess. That is a crime punishable by death._** _" Anck-Su-Namun said with a sadistic grin as she watched the woman fall to her knees sobbing._

_It had been days since he had seen his beloved Layla, he just wanted to see her one last time but the guards refused to let him see her. Word had traveled that he had forced_   _himself on Layla which made him sick; he never forced himself on her. He loved her more than anything in all of existence it was obvious that the gods made the match why else would they have fallen in love? Why else would she of still had, the visions the Goddess Isis gave her if it wasn't meant to be? Surely the Goddess wouldn't still give her the gift of sight if she had angered her._

" ** _Amun, I am here to inform you that on behalf of your crimes you will be executed at dawn._** _" A guard said as he held up a papyrus with the Pharaoh's decision. His only thought was that if it meant that his beloved Layla and their unborn child were safe then he would die a thousand times._

_He silently begged the gods to let him see her one last time, and just for safe measures he prayed to his paternal ancestor's gods as well he prayed to Zeus that he would be allowed to just see his beloved Layla._

_The gods had heard his prayers and answered them in the form of the Pharaoh himself. The Pharaoh had ordered the Amun be brought to his throne room where he could confront the man himself._

_“ **Is it true? Have you lain with the High Priestess? You swore an oath to keep her pure. That is a punishable crime Medjai.** ” The Pharaoh said with an angered look on his face. _

_“ **Y-yes. But I do not regret it. I would do it again Pharaoh, the Goddess herself has blessed it. The High Priestess still has her visions even when she carries my child. If it was not meant to be why would she still have visions?** ” The Pharaoh paused a moment before raising a hand, two guards came in with Layla who had tears in her eyes. Amun looked at his love and held his chin high, he had to be strong for the both of them. _

_“ **High Priestess how do I know that you still have your visions? How do I know you aren’t being deceitful?** ” The Pharaoh asked as he tapped his chin thoughtfully. _

_“ **Perhaps a test?** ” Layla asked softly she slowly made her way to the Pharaoh before stopping just before him. Her back was to Amun so she didn’t see him eye her desperately trying to get her attention to just make sure she was alright. _

_“ **Very well. I will call in some Medjai, tell me how many will come from each entrance.** ” The Pharaoh said thoughtfully. Surely Layla would not be able to guess correctly for every entrance. She nodded once before pausing allowing the Goddess to give her a vision of the Medjai entering. _

**_“From the left there will be two, the right will have four and the rear will have six Medjai and the Princess will enter from behind you my Pharaoh._ ** _” The Pharaoh called for the Medjai and just as she had said the men made their way out. He however paused when he did not see his daughter until he heard her speak up._

_“ **Father? What is going on?** ” _ _Nefertiri asked as she walked towards her father. The Pharaoh’s eyes grew wide before he grinned._

_“ **The Goddess still gives you visions! Since you still have your visions High Priestess then it must mean the Goddess blesses this union. Medjai release Amun at once!** ” The guards unshackled Amun who let out a sigh of relief. _

_That night Amun was lying beside his High Priestess with a smile on his face as he caressed her slightly swollen bump. Layla couldn’t believe that the Pharaoh had pardoned both of them. Not only that but he was giving them his blessing._

_“ **A girl you said?** ” Amun whispered softly with a loving smile on his face. _

_It had only been a few days when the two found their lives changing. And it wasn’t for the better._

_Amun was shocked to find out that Anuk-Su-Namun’s lover was the High Priest of Osiris. Layla looked torn, the High Priest had been one of the first to try to make Layla feel like she had a family. The High Priest had become like an older brother to Layla. He knew that while he wasn’t exactly a huge supporter of the man he knew how important he was to Layla._

_“ **Imhotep! You have defied the Gods! Touching the Pharaoh’s bride! How could you?!** ” Layla screamed as she glared at the man who was attempting to flee, Amun was beside her with his weapon raised. They were shocked that the High Priest and his own lover had murdered the Pharaoh. Amun was ready to attack if the other man were to harm Layla. Question was would he? _

_“ **Same way you defied the Goddess, you had laid with your so called guard! Are you not carrying his child?”** Layla glared at the man as she stepped in front of Amun. _

_“ **You will be accountable for what you did!”**  Before Layla could say another word Imhotep had given a look to someone over her shoulder and Amun let out a scream. She spun around to see her lover with a knife in his back, one of Imhotep’s priests had stabbed him. “ **AMUN! NOO!”** She screamed as the men fled leaving her with her lover in her arms._

_“ **I will find you a-again…mark my words my Priestess, I will find a way to you again.”**  He said as he took his last breath in her arms._

Henderson woke with a start when he felt as if a blade had actually stabbed him in the back, he had never had a dream like that before and it terrified him. Could that have been his past life? Is that how his past life had died, killed simply because he loved a woman more than anything else in the world and for trying to protect her?

" ** _AMUN_!** " Came a snarl, Henderson jumped to his feet when he saw the mummy in front of him, he couldn't help but gasp a little. The mummy's eyes might have been Burns' before but now they held such hatred that seemed  _wrong,_ Burns never was an angry man so seeing  _his_  eyes hold such hatred only angered him.

"Imhotep I assume? Sorry you son of a bitch but you aren't going to win this time!" He said as he grabbed the closest thing to him which was the canopic jar and threw it. Imhotep let out an inhuman screech as he in a whirl wind of sand rushed to catch the jar before it shattered; he clutched it close to his undead heart and glared at Henderson. Grabbing the man with his other hand he threw the man into the window, splintering the shutters as the man fell to the ground. Thankfully Henderson had enough time to brace himself thus saving his life.

"JAKE, what the hell happened?!" He looked up to see Layla, no  _Nerissa_  he wasn't Amun, he was Jacob Henderson. Slowly rising to his feet he let out a groan as he felt the obvious pain from being thrown out a window.

"The damn mummy threw me out a window. That's what happened! Ugh my, everything hurts right now." He let out a yelp as Rick shoved him and ran up the stairs. "Shit, I forgot about your sister, sorry." Henderson said as he turned to Jonathan who let out a whimper before deciding his sister was worth facing a pissed off undead mummy.

"Yeah…we were too late for the Egyptologist…I just wish I could of punched him  _before_  he was turned into jerky." She said before she ran up to the room as well. When she got in the room she pulled out her gun and aimed at the mummy before he disappeared once Rick held up Cleo who hissed at him making him screech.

"So…I guess we better find a way to kill him before he gets Daniels?" Nerissa asked as she looked at Daniels who had apparently shown up before her and Henderson, the poor man was shaking like a leaf.

"Yeah, we waited too long already. Now let's go, Evy I sure hope you can translate that damn slab you mentioned before." Rick said with a sigh.


	13. Past Meets Present

Translating an old text while having an army of men who followed an undead three thousand something year old _mummy_ sounded like an insane fiction plot, yet at the same time Nerissa wondered if she could put that on future résumés for digs. It showed that she was great under serious pressure right? It was absurd that she even had to wonder about things like that but as of recently that was her life.

“Evy, please tell me you are almost done translating! There is an army of minions with nasty boils and they are coming straight for us!” Nerissa screamed at her friend who just told her to hush and that patience was a virtue. Nerissa was too distracted by the mob coming towards them to respond so it was Rick that spoke up.

“Not right now it isn’t!” Not a minute later Evy let out an excited shout saying she had found the location of the Book of the Living, the book as of recent was just a treasure hunter’s dream and an adventurer like Nerissa a childhood bedtime story.

“Alright let’s get out of here so you _can_ live to rub it in the scholar’s faces that you found what they never could!” Nerissa said as she dragged Evy towards the car that Jonathan had brought around for them. She had never been so glad to see a damn car before as she ran towards the passenger seat and jumped in giving her friend a kiss on the cheek.

“I so love you right now Jon! Now let’s get the hell out of here and find that damn book!” She screamed as Jonathan sped off once everyone had jumped in the car. After what seemed like endless sharp turns trying to get away from the men they had come across a blockade of men normally it was instinct to stop but Nerissa was fueled by adrenaline and slammed her foot on Jonathan’s making him yelp in surprise as he plowed over the men in the way. However she felt bad that somewhere in the rush to escape they had lost Daniels, though a small part of her was glad it wasn’t Henderson or one of her friends. It was the sight of Beni that made her mad out of all that she had just been through, once again he had betrayed them and she would never forget that. 

It was the sight of Imhotep though that terrified her. He was fully regenerated and had a look on his face that made her skin crawl. He turned to her with a look of pure hate that made her feel as if he were about to tear her to shreds with a flick of his wrist, then again with the powers he had before he was fully regenerated she didn’t put it past him. She couldn’t help but question what sort of power he had now, did he obtain more supernatural powers than before?

“ ** _Layla, I swore my revenge. You will regret ever taking Anck-Su-Namun_** **_from me. But that will have to wait a little longer. I think she would prefer to kill you more than I. You had the Pharaoh paint her. And it was you who told the Pharaoh about her._** _”_ She couldn’t do more than blink in shock, the fact that he kept calling her Layla and the fact that she couldn’t help but want to answer as if she were still Layla. Which is exactly what she found herself doing. The words seemed to spill out of her mouth and she couldn’t help but wonder if perhaps Layla was truly inside of her, she couldn’t help but wonder if she were simply a vessel for the former High Priestess.

“ ** _It was you who caused her death. You should have just left her alone. She was never yours Imhotep. You brought the curse upon yourself._** _”_ She spat in ancient Egyptian a language that she never really spoke before. Sure she knew it but she never actually spoke it aloud before that moment. It shocked her that she could speak it so fluently without any thought about it, and apparently it shocked everyone else. It was only Evy who actually understood. Jonathan, while he knew some Egyptian couldn’t exactly speak it. She glared at Imhotep as he ordered Beni to grab Evy much to Rick’s displeasure. She bit back a snarl when Imhotep threaten to kill them all if Evy didn’t go with him, she realized that he really did intend to use Evy in the sacrifice to bring back Anuk-Su-Namun. She began to form a plan in her head as to how they would save Evy from becoming a sacrifice as she began to form a plan in her head she could almost hear a voice in the back of her mind. One that encouraged her to find the Book of the Living, to stop Imhotep from bringing back Anuk-Su-Namun. Bringing someone back from the dead wasn’t natural. It always had a price and any ritual that required a human sacrifice was wrong, she couldn’t let something like that tip the natural balance.

**_Find the book. Remember where it is. Stop him. He was stopped before. Call the Medjai they will stop him!_ **

The voice in the back of her mind was practically screaming at her, it seemed to know how to stop Imhotep. She normally wouldn’t listen to a crazy voice in her head but it seemed to know what to do in this already crazy situation. She grabbed onto Rick’s sleeve and pulled him back far enough for him to look her in the eye as she shook her head.

“Live now. Get revenge later.” She said, he looked like he was about to protest but she shook her head firmly. When Imhotep gave the order for them to be killed she turned to look at him with a glare. She saw that Henderson and Jonathan opened a sewage drain and pulled her towards them with one grunt of disgust she jumped into the dark hole with a splash. The smell was the most disgusting one she had ever had the misfortune of smelling. She stepped back as she saw another figure jump into the shallow water with a grunt, it was Henderson who was followed by Jonathan, Rick and Ardeth. She noticed that the curator wasn’t with them but she could hear the sound of a sword being swung around before she heard a loud scream and the groans of the mindless slaves of Imhotep.

“I’m sorry about your friend.” Nerissa said as she squinted to see Ardeth in the dark tunnels. He gave her a weak yet thankful smile.

It was Rick that decided to ask Wilson for help. She wasn’t a fan of the man for he always drank away his life. Not to mention he always gave her looks that made her uncomfortable and often liked to tell her that she was not supposed to do a man’s job. But he was a friend of Rick, so she had to remain civil.

“You guys ride with Winston, I’ll fly the second plane. I do know how to fly a plane Rick. You know Mad Dog taught me.” She said but surprisingly he told her he didn’t want her to fly. When she was about to complain he spoke up.

“Not that I don’t question your skill Riss, I rather have you man the guns. You are a better aim. Henderson do you know how to fly?” He asked, Henderson nodded before speaking up.

“Of course, we have an old crop duster on the family ranch. Learned to fly it as a kid.” Nerissa couldn’t help but smirk the thought of Henderson on a ranch made her want to laugh he didn’t seem like the kind to work on a farm which could explain why he ran off on an Egyptian adventure.

While flying Nerissa couldn’t help but feel at ease, as long as she didn’t look down that is. She wore a pair of pilot’s goggles and she had tied a bandana in her hair to keep it from getting in her face.

They had only been in the air for about ten minutes when they saw a huge dust storm something told her right away that it was far from natural. She was proven right when she saw two people thrown from the storm and it slowly disappeared and in its place was Imhotep. It seemed he had spotted them like they had him and with a dramatic raise of his hands and a deep growl a large wall of sand rose towards the sky. She let out a yelp when she saw his face in the sand as it grew closer to the two planes.  She let out a gasp as she saw the other plane get sucked into the sand wall before crashing to the ground but before she could say anything her own plane was spiraling towards the sandy dunes.

With a giant boom sound the plane buried itself in the sand, somewhere in the chaotic decent Henderson had managed to jump out of his seat and miraculously landed safely a few feet away. Nerissa groaned in pain she had gotten whiplash and hit her collar bone hard enough where she wouldn’t be surprised if it broke even just a little. Henderson ran towards her and carefully checked her for any serious injuries, she could see that to her left Rick checked on Winston who had been killed in the crash. She may not have exactly liked the man but she still felt sorry that he had died.

“Everyone else alright?” Henderson asked as he looked around, Nerissa jumped when she felt the sand shift and the planes began to sink into the grounds. The desert had a way of claiming things so she knew there wasn’t anything they could really do.

-=-

When they finally made it to Hamunaptra Nerissa felt a mixture of dread and the urge to find the book. She felt as if she weren’t in control of her body as she immediately made her way towards one of the entrances to the underground maze.

**_Find the book. Remember where it is._ **

She found herself weaving through the halls and before her eyes the walls were returning to their former glory. She heard footsteps behind her and looked over her shoulder briefly but instead of seeing her companions she saw the ancient Medjai. She stopped in front of the statue base and looked at the statue. She saw her own hands place the book in the base of the statue. One of the Medjai behind her sets up the trap. So when she sees Rick attempting to open it she grabs his arm firmly and shakes her head. She turns and sees the Medjai placing jeweled scarabs on the wall and finds herself raising her hand while saying an enchantment of some sorts.

**_A curse, for those who come for the treasures of the dead. To stop them from coming any closer to him. He must not be woken._ **

“Rissa? What the hell are you doing?” Rick asked as he gently pulled his arm from her grasp. He moved in front of her and waved his hand as if it would stop whatever she was doing. She spun around when she heard a scream and saw one of the scarabs was inside of Jonathan’s arm. It’s Rick that gets it out and fires at it with his pistol. But the bang of the gun she knew would draw attention. As if on cue reanimated mummies of the priests come towards them. Nerissa lets out a grunt of pain as memories flood her mind.

_The priests are screaming as she orders them to be mummified alive as punishment. They had gone against the moral codes and they had helped the man who murdered her love. She made her way to Imhotep who was a mix of furious and terrified. She didn’t bat an eye as he sent her a glare._

_“ **I could have brought him back! Let me go and bring Anck-Su-Namun back and I will bring your precious Medjai back!** ” He snarled yet she could sense the desperate tone in his voice. If he only knew how much Anck-Su-Namun had manipulated him. _

_“ **The price of your crimes, not only did you have my love murdered but you took the wife to be of the pharaoh and the two of you murdered the pharaoh and I don’t know if you know this but you are the reason Princess Nefertiri**_ **_fell. The shock of her father’s murder caused her fall. And then you steal a body to resurrect. Your crime will not go unpunished. For you Imhotep you will suffer the greatest of curses. The Hom Dai, you will suffer for an eternity for your crimes._ ** _” She said as she not once broke eye contact. At her command the Medjai dragged the man towards a sarcophagus. Imhotep began to resist and when they cut his tongue tears began to fall from his eyes. His muffled screams began to grow louder when the scarabs were poured onto his body and the faint sound of him clawing at the lid of his sarcophagus could be heard as they locked it._

_“ **Wenamun, you and your decedents are tasked with ensuring he never awakens.** ” She said to one of the Medjai before she turned to leave._

Nerissa let out a scream as the visions, no the memories of her past life ended. It was because of her past life that all this was happening and she felt powerless to stop it. What could she possibly do against an army of undead?

**_FIGHT! USE A WEAPON! AMUN TAUGHT YOU HOW!_ **

She grabbed a sword that she saw on an, alter and swung it like a baseball bat. It hit the mummified priest who let out an inhuman shriek. She didn’t feel comfortable with a sword and frantically looked around and saw a bow leaning against a statue. She ran towards it and slid under the legs of another mummy. She couldn’t help but feel a sense of pride at that move because she knew the chances of ever doing something that amazing again were very slim. Grabbing the bow she aimed an arrow at another mummy and shot it through the neck. The shriek it gave caught Henderson’s attention as he spun around in time to strike it down. He gave her a quick smile and nod as he moved onto the next target. As if it were a rehearsed dance routine Nerissa and Henderson fought the mummies as a team. She felt a sense of familiarity at their synchronized movements.

**_It is just like Amun, his new incarnation has his skill in battle. Oh how I have missed this!_ **

She was beginning to be unfazed by the voice in her head. It was something that before her discovery of her past life that would have made her crazy. But after what she had recently seen she was willing to let it go.

The sound of marching caught Nerissa’s attention and made her look over her shoulder the sight of even more undead mummies made her want to scream. She was getting rather sick of Egypt and mummies and was just about to vow never to return. She ran towards Jonathan when she saw Imhotep following him as if he were his prey which in a way he was.

“JONATHAN!” She screamed as she swung the bow she still had in her grasp, she had long run out of arrows but the bow was still of use if she swung it. Imhotep spun around with a snarl as he grabbed Nerissa by the throat.

“ ** _LAYLA! I will end you, you will pay for what you’ve done! And your interference will end!_** _”_ He spat as she began to struggle, her nails clawed at his arms but he didn’t even seem faze him as he just tightened his grip around her throat. Rick was making his way towards her but was stopped by the Medjai who were under Imhotep’s control, she let out a squeak as she attempted to tell Jonathan to hurry up with the inscription. When he managed to finish the inscription the guards froze in their actions and Imhotep loosened his grip slightly. 

Jonathan had managed to finish the inscription on the cover of the book and the Medjai that were just about to stab Rick and Henderson froze. Imhotep let out a growl as he threw Nerissa against a wall before making his way towards Jonathan. Her vision became blurry and she could barely hear what the others were shouting, but she managed to hear Jonathan order the guards to attack Anuk-Su-Namun. Nerissa hadn’t even realized that the woman had been brought back to the land of the living and when she tried to make her way towards Jonathan she heard a bone chilling screech. She spun a little too quickly before seeing a shadow of a woman being stabbed by the Medjai. Imhotep tried running towards the woman but Nerissa pulled out her forgotten pistol and fired a shot, she knew it would do no harm but it was just a way to get his attention, not to mention it was therapeutic. She saw Evy run towards her brother and grab the book and hastily read another inscription in the book. Nerissa’s head hurt too much to think of how she managed to open the book but she didn’t complain as Imhotep stalked towards her as if he were a feral beast and she were his prey.  She desperately tried to keep from fainting, but her head was spinning. She brushed the back of her head and felt the sticky feeling of blood the bastard had managed to crack her head open, she knew it wasn’t exactly fatal but it was bleeding like crazy like head wounds always did.

With another loud shrill and the sounds of hoof beats a dark and spectral version of a chariot came speeding towards her and Imhotep. Out of reflex she tried to shield herself from the chariot that sped past her and appeared to rip a spectral version of Imhotep from him. The man ran after the chariot screaming and that was the last thing Nerissa saw before she blacked out.

With a groan Nerissa tried to open her eyes, but even with them closed the light was too bright. She felt as of her head were about to explode. She felt worse than ever before and that was saying something from some of the hangovers she had, had in the past. She tried to sit up but felt as if she were about to fall. Strong arms grabbed tighter onto her hips pulling her closer to the chest of the person behind her.

“Easy there darlin’. Don’t want to hurt yourself anymore.” The soothing voice behind her made her want to open her eyes even more, so with a loud groan she managed to open her eyes. Looking up she saw Henderson giving her a genuine smile as he looked down at her.

“My head…dear god it hurts…did we kick his ass? Did we save the… _ow_ …the world?” She said as she closed her eyes again, the sun was too damn bright.

“O’Connell got him. Stabbed the bastard and that did the trick.” He said as he pulled her a little closer as if to cradle her. Normally she would punch someone for treating her so delicately but with her head throbbing she had no energy. “And oh he and your friend Evy are kind of a thing now.” He said with a chuckle, she gave a weak smile and waved her hand in the air.

“So called it. Jonathan owes me $400, I told him I could find Evy a guy that could put up with her.” She heard towards her left her friend attempt to protest but she just waved him off and told him she was going to rest until her head stopped throbbing.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This story is far from over, however I may put it on a bit of a hiatus. I will need time to work out what I plan to do next as well as re-watch the sequels. In the meantime please feel free to check out my other stories. This one specifically will have an epilogue for what happens after and then the sequels which will each be named after the movie they are set during. But either way keep an eye out!


	14. Epilogue: One Year Later

Nerissa was grinning ear to ear as she watched the man before her pouring two glasses of amber colored drinks. Forgoing the ice because it watered down the beverage far too much for their liking. His tanned skin damn near glistening as the early sunlight reflected off the small beads of sweat. Now whether the sweat was from the heat or the last several hours she had no clue, it could most likely be both.

“Like what you see darlin’?” The man asked with a laugh as he caught her out of the corner of his eye. She grinned as she bit her bottom lip, he seemed to enjoy the coy smile she gave him as he placed the empty bottle onto the table before him.  
"And if I did? What would you do about it?" She asked as she held out a hand for one of the glasses, he instead took her hand and pulled her into his arms with a chuckle. He turned so he fell back onto the mattress with her on top of him with a grin.

"Well, I'd have to say I feel the same way darlin', now come here." He whispered as he held her bare hips dragging her forward resulting in her letting out a gasp. Her hands dropped onto his bare chest as her gasp turned into a moan. Slowly he sat up and brushed a stray hair out of her face before he began to rock her back and forth on his thigh her gasps and moans grew louder as she began clawing at his chest.  
"Damn it, _Jake_..." He just gave her a smirk as he watched her come undone for what felt like the millionth time since they arrived at the hotel they were staying in, not that she was complaining.

"What's that darlin'?" At this point, she was far too gone to respond and began to tremble and call out his name as if it were a prayer. Nerissa felt her body go limp in his arms, he grinned as he laid her on her back and slowly dragged his calloused fingers along her bare skin making her shiver in overstimulated delight. She lazily grabbed onto his forearms and pulled him towards her with a satisfied grin, bringing his lips to her own. The two gave each other a loving smile as they kissed. Gripping her hips once more he pulled her into a sitting position again and moved her legs so she now straddled his own hips instead of just his thigh. With an excited squeak slipping from her kiss-swollen lips he slid into her with a moan of his own.  
“ _Shit_ darlin’ you feel…oh, gods _Nerissa_ ….” He let out a growl as her nails gripped the backs of his shoulders and dragged down his back. This was enough to encourage him to pick up his thrusts, as she began to pant he grinned knowing it was him causing her to come undone once more and nothing was more satisfying to him.

“Come on darlin’, come with me… _Nerissa_ …c-come w-w-with me…” He said between each thrust and pant. He gave a slight pout as her eyes slid closed making him shake his head, no he wanted to watch her lust filled eyes when she came undone, she might have been a High Priestess in a past life but she was a goddess right now. He heard her laugh making him realize he had said that last bit aloud.

  
“Goddess hmm? What does that make… _oohh_!” She called out as he gave a slightly harder thrust as he growled, slipping a hand between them he began brushing his thumb against her, knowing full well that if he put just enough pressure she would come undone much faster. “Fuck…Jake…there…please, gods…there…” She was practically screaming at this point grabbing his unruly blond locks in a desperate attempt to hold onto something as she frantically met each thrust. Finally, the two both met their climaxes with a scream of each other’s names before collapsing on the bed with quite satisfied grins on their flushed faces.  
“I think we might have made a good choice to pick the villa bit further from the others. Seems my new wife is a bit loud.” He said with a laugh making her blush before she smacked his chest.  
“Oh shut it Henderson, you weren’t exactly quiet yourself.” She said as she curled into his side and kissed his neck with a sigh.  
“This place is definitely better than Egypt…Greece was a great choice, nice beach no revenge seeking mummies…and of course, the best part is you right here with me.” He said as he gave her a kiss.  
“Oh gods, I’ve married a complete sap.” She said laughing, the two of them full well knew that neither would trade the other for the world.  
“Oh, hush you love it darlin’.” She gave an agreeable hum before she drifted off into a much-needed slumber.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Well, this is the official end on part one folks. I honestly have no clue when I'll write the sequels but one day I will.


End file.
